It’s a good move. The “HBO” brand is associated with some of the worst content ever: Sopranos, The Wire, Band of Brothers, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Deadwood and Silicon Valley.Good riddance.
27.03.2023 - 10:49 / variety.com
K.J. Yossman U.K. podcast production outfit Blanchard House has tapped HBO Max podcasting strategy director Hassan Chaudhry as its new head of partnerships and strategy, Variety can exclusively reveal. Meanwhile Amica Sciortino Nowlan, formerly of The Economist, joins as managing producer. The new hires come ahead of a busy year for the podcast outfit, which is set to launch five shows this year, including two at Audible. Chaudhry, who is based in New York, is responsible for establishing and leading HBO Max’s podcasting group, whose output includes “The Game of Thrones Podcast” and “Batman: The Audio Adventures.” At Blanchard House Chaudhry will look after film and TV relationships and lead growth.
Sciortino Nowlan is an award-winning audio producer who helped build The Economist’s audio features team. “We’re so delighted to add Hassan and Amica to our growing team,” said Blanchard House co-founder Rosie Pye. “We’ve got an extremely busy year ahead, so to have new team members of this calibre is exceptional. We look forward this year to finally releasing some phenomenal shows with our brilliant partners.”
It’s a good move. The “HBO” brand is associated with some of the worst content ever: Sopranos, The Wire, Band of Brothers, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Deadwood and Silicon Valley.Good riddance.
The Big Bang Theory signed off on CBS as , it appears to be back in the form of an upcoming new series set in the same world. (What world that is…well, we're not sure yet). The news also comes on the heels of Warner Bros.
It isn’t often that a Hollywood A-lister is willing to swap the bright lights of New York for a tiny village straddling the English and Welsh border, but one star who intends to do precisely that is Deadpool & Fall Guy star Ryan Reynolds. Hot on the heels of his ongoing success with Wrexham FC, a club he purchased back in 2020 alongside Always Sunny In Philadelphia Rob McElhenney, Ryan has reportedly splashed the cash on a quaint 4 bedroomed property worth a cool £1.5 million as he hopes to be closer to his team.
The fear is real. Paige DeSorbo broke into tears while talking about her future with Craig Conover after the two didn’t see eye to eye on an engagement date.
Ethan Shanfeld John Early has set his first HBO special with “Now More Than Ever,” a stand-up comedy hour in the style of a “gritty ’70s rockumentary.” Airing on HBO and available to stream on HBO Max in June, the special will feature “stand-up and explosive song covers from Britney to Neil Young, intercut with Spinal Tap-esque backstage sketches.” Among his other credits including “Would It Kill You to Laugh?” and “Search Party,” Early is known for whipping out his famous Britney Spears impression on late night television. Perhaps he’ll reprise his rendition of “Lucky” or Spears’ lesser-known Christmas song “My Only Wish (This Year)” in the special.
Sticking the landing. Succession viewers were shocked to see Logan Roy (Brian Cox) killed off three episodes into season 4 — but the HBO show’s cast showed their support for the twist.
Joe Otterson TV Reporter Liz Tigelaar and Stacey Silverman’s production company, Best Day Ever, has hired ABC Signature’s Abby Chambers, Variety has learned exclusively. Chambers will now serve as vice president of television and production at Best Day Ever. She most recently worked as director of current programming at ABC Signature, where Best Day Ever is set up under an overall deal. “Best Day Ever is beyond thrilled to welcome Abby to the Best Day Ever team,” Tigelaar and Silverman said in a joint statement. “The truth is, after being our studio partner on ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ and ‘Under the Bridge,’ we’d already come to think of her as our own. Her goals align perfectly with ours —to tell stories that feel vital, to center new voices, and to raise up future showrunners—and we feel lucky to have her passion and brilliance with us every day (and who knows, she may even steer us onto projects with non three-word-titles, too).”
BreAnna Bell The “1266” pilot set at Onyx Collective has added Karim Diané, Kristin Dodson, and Kassandra Lee Diaz as series regulars to star alongside Gabourey Sidibe, who will executive produce and play the lead role of Gabby. Anna Maria Horsford, Tisha Campbell, and Judy Reyes have been announced as recurring guest stars. Diané (“One of Us Is Lying”) portrays Posh, a student at the New York Institute of Fashion who’s described as everyone’s favorite, even if they are constantly trying to figure out if he’s straight or gay. They’re Gabby’s best friend who doesn’t put up with her antics and isn’t scared to hold her accountable. Posh’s brutal honesty is always delivered with love, understanding and some attitude. He’s repped by Paradigm and managed by Reed Baker at Legendize.
New York for nearly seven years, and was later hired hired by Tina Brown as editorial director of Talk where he oversaw double-digit circulation gains in his first year, according to the press release at the time of his hire. Roshan confirmed his exit but declined to elaborate on the reason or terms of his departure. Like many print publications, Los Angeles magazine has been struggling for both readers and advertisers in recent years, but it saw an even steeper decline during the COVID pandemic.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Donald Trump, who on Tuesday became the first former U.S. president to be indicted, is looking to generate some cash from supporters by selling T-shirts with a fake mug shot. On Tuesday, Trump was arraigned and charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The former president and TV personality pleaded not guilty to the charges. Trump was not expected to have his mug shot taken after he surrendered to authorities in Manhattan. But that didn’t stop Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign from trying to cash in on the unprecedented arrest and indictment.
series are teaming up for a crossover event, «Imminent Threat,» uniting the characters and storylines of , and. On Tuesday, the three units will have to come together when the abduction of a U.S.
Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard is coming!
Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard is Bravo’s new reality series, a spinoff of Summer House, that is set to premiere Sunday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET.
Brent Lang Executive Editor Susan Cain’s “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole” has been optioned for the stage by Bated Breath Theatre Company. The author will help adapt her bestselling book, which weaves together poignant stories of loss and resilience, as well as Cain’s personal experience. It also touches on art, literature, religion and science to explain why longing and loss can be so deeply profound and transformational. Mara Lieberman, the executive director of Bated Breath Theatre Company, will write the adaptation in collaboration with Cain, and direct and produce it. The new production will be produced by Bated Breath and RRR Productions, which was founded by Ryan Ratelle.
Marta Balaga New York-based conglomerate Big Media has signed with RCTV International Corp. to become the exclusive distribution partner to parent company RCTV’s catalog for FAST and AVOD platforms worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Big Media will distribute over 7,000 hours of telenovelas to streaming platforms around the world. It will also serve as the exclusive distributor of RCTV’s catalogue for all forms of broadcast in Europe and Asia. “Our partnership with RCTV International is one of the most significant in our company’s 14-year history. RCTV’s catalog of telenovelas is unparalleled, both in terms of quality and quantity,” said Juan Fernández, Big Media’s head of Latin America and Spanish-speaking U.S. distribution.
HYBE Labels subsidiary ADOR, home to K-pop girl group NewJeans, have opened online auditions for a potential new boyband.Today (March 28), ADOR unveiled several posters and videos on social media and YouTube announcing its ‘The Real Hype Boys’ audition. The label will be accepting online auditions on ador.world from now until 1pm KST on April 14.An unnamed male trainee as well as the members of NewJeans feature in the promotional video for the auditions, which details the online application period and host countries where in-person auditions will take place.Per ADOR’s guidelines, the auditions are open to boys born between 2004-2012.
The Motion Picture Association said Josh Levin starts today as VP of State Government Affairs for the Northeast Region, reporting to Kathy Bañuelos, SVP of State Government Affairs. His hiring creates an office for the region as the MPA pursues a shift in strategy for its state government affairs work, bringing in top executives across key U.S. production hubs to maximize advocacy.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Rob Wilk, most recently global head of advertising at Microsoft, joined Snap as the first president of Americas overseeing the Snapchat parent company’s sales in the region. Wilk, who is based out of Snap’s New York offices, reports to Snap COO Jerry Hunter. In the new role, Wilk will run sales across the U.S., Canada and Latin America and will be responsible for supporting and managing its largest advertising partners in the region. Wilk steps into the Snap job after the departure last summer of the company’s two top ad sales execs, Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor, who joined Netflix. “We were impressed not only with Rob’s hands-on experience building a large and growing advertising business, but also his approach to leading customer-centric sales teams and developing strong, sustained customer relationships,” Hunter wrote in an internal memo to Snap staff Monday.
Joe Otterson TV Reporter Leigh Bardugo has signed with WME for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. WME will now rep the New York Times bestselling author for film and TV rights services. New Leaf Literary & Media represents Bardugo for publishing and will now co-represent her with WME in all other areas. Bardugo is best known for writing the so-called Grishaverse novels, which consists of nine books total beginning with the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy. Her books have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Netflix currently airs the series version of “Shadow and Bone,” which is based on the three books of the trilogy as well as Bardugo’s “Six of Crows” duology. The cast of the series includes Jessie Mei Li, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, Danielle Galligan, Calahan Skogman, and Ben Barnes. The series launched on Netflix in April 2021 and was renewed for a second season in June. Season 2 premiered on March 16 of this year and remains in the Netflix Top 10 at the time of this publishing. Bardugo is an executive producer on the series.
BookTok, rejoice! Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestselling novel It Ends With Us is officially being adapted for the big screen – with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni taking center stage.