Showtime Entertainment Co-President Shake-Up: Jana Winograde Exits, Gary Levine Transitions to Creative Advisor

Michael P. O’Leary will be appointed the president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners beginning May 1.

It’s offiicial. Starz has picked up the 10-episode drama series Three Women, starring Shailene Woodley, following its release by Showtime. As we previously reported, the premium cabler had been in negotiations to pick up the series, adapted by Lisa Taddeo from her nonfiction bestseller of the same name.

EXCLUSIVE: Yale Entertainment has hired producer Nick Phillips as Head of Production.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles and report to Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment. “I am so excited for John to join FAE and lead the incredible team we have assembled,” Wallach said. “His creative vision and vast experience as both a producer and an executive working on a global scale will be key to our strategy of building FAE as a leading provider of innovative series and formats for Fox and third-party platforms throughout the world.”

Common Sense Networks, the for-profit affiliate of Common Sense Media, has formed a board of directors, with newly elected members including veteran children’s media execs Geraldine Laybourne and Gary Knell.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Waco: The Aftermath” series at Showtime has added 10 new cast members, Variety has learned. The new cast members for the followup to Paramount Networks’ “Waco” include: Shea Whigham, who will reprise the role of Mitch Decker, the FBI agent who managed the situation leading up the siege; Annika Marks, who will reprise the role of Kathy Schroeder, one of the surviving Branch Davidians who was also called upon to testify; Alex Breaux, who will play Timothy McVeigh; Michael Cassidy, who will play Bill Johnston, the lead prosecutor in the trial of the Branch Davidians; Gary Cole, who will play Gordon Novel, described as an “intense private investigator;” Nicholas Kolev, who will play Paul Fatta, another one of the Davidians on trial after the Waco siege; Michael Luwoye, who will play Livingstone Fagan, described as “an extremely bright biblical scholar and one of the surviving Branch Davidians on trial;” Kali Rocha, who will play Ruth Riddle, one of the Branch Davidian survivors facing trial and the possibility of life in jail; Michael Vincent Barry, who will play George Roden, one of the early leaders of the Davidian sect; and Sasheer Zamata, who will play Angie Graham, described as “a smart, experienced ATF agent.”

Pregnant Laura Anderson has taken to Instagram to post a cryptic message following her split from Gary Lucy, the father of her unborn child. The 33 year old former Love Island star posted a reel in which a person can be seen walking through the snow with sombre music playing in the background. A narrator could also be heard saying: "You really think she keeps going because it doesn't hurt? "The truth is it hurts her more than she will ever admit to you.

Charna Flam John Leguizamo will receive the Miami Film Festival‘s Impact Award on March 11. Leguizamo’s new MSNBC series, “Leguizamo Does America,” will screen ahead of the award presentation.

MONSTA X and Jessi have been announced as the final K-pop acts to join the line-up for We Bridge, a music festival set to take place in Las Vegas.We Bridge announced yesterday (February 23) that both acts would be joining the performing line-up for day one (April 21), with MONSTA X set to headline the first night of the festival. Both acts will be sharing the bill with Dreamcatcher, CIX and soloist Kang Daniel.‼️ FINAL LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENTWe are excited to announce that @OfficialMonstaX will also be joining the final lineup of the #WeBridge concert as the headliner on day 1 ✨Get your tickets: https://t.co/9xhUMDB6HC pic.twitter.com/fT0bXdWddi— WE BRIDGE Expo (@WeBridgeExpo) February 23, 2023‼️ FINAL LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENTWe can’t wait to see Jessi on stage in Las Vegas! Don’t miss her performance as she joins day 1 of the #WeBridge Expo ✨Get your tickets: https://t.co/9xhUMDB6HC pic.twitter.com/8mikPCLBZX— WE BRIDGE Expo (@WeBridgeExpo) February 23, 2023Earlier this month, ENHYPEN was announced as the headliner for the festival’s second night (April 22), sharing the stage with boy group ONEUS and soloist Be’O, as well as girl groups VIVIZ and fromis_9.

Charna Flam Showtime’s upcoming series, “Waco: The Aftermath,” will debut on the streaming service and on-demand April 14, followed by its linear premiere on April 16 at 10 p.m. A first-look image has been released in addition to the premiere date (see above). “Waco: The Aftermath” follows the 2018 limited series “Waco,” which retold the true story of the 51-day standoff between a small religious community and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The Aftermath” stars Michael Shannon, who reprises his role as Gary Noesner, a FBI hostage negotiator suffering from PTSD after the failed negotiations in Waco. Shannon is rejoined by John Leguizamo as Jacob Vasquez, an undercover ATF agent. The upcoming five-episode series will document the fallout of the disaster, including the trials of the surviving Branch Davidian members and the rise of homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh.

EXCLUSIVE: FilmNation Entertainment and ZQ Entertainment have finalized a multi-year feature film development fund deal.

Laura Anderson has taken a fresh swipe at ex boyfriend Gary Lucy. The pair, who struck up a romance after meeting on Celebs Go Dating, are expecting a baby together and announced their joyful news last week. Alongside a video montage on Instagram, Love Island star Laura, 33, wrote at the time: “Our hearts are full.

Love Island star Laura Anderson recently announced she's expecting her first child with ex-Hollyoaks actor Gary Lucy, with the reality TV star sharing the happy news on Instagram. Laura, 33, met Gary, 41, in 2022 when they both appeared on hit E4 show Celebs Go Dating and while they were meant to be finding love with non-celebrities, the famous pair soon fell for one another.

Charna Flam Veteran entertainment publicist Andrew Freedman died Feb. 8 in New York after being diagnosed with liver cancer in August. He was 67. Freedman worked with clients including Gayle King, Barbara Walters, Joan Collins, Margo Martindale, Christopher McDonald and Harry Shearer. Prior to his career as a publicist, Freedman served as communications specialist to Sen. Ted Kennedy during his 1980 presidential campaign, which was followed by his campaign work for Sen. George McGovern in South Dakota and Reps. Jim Howard and Andy Maguire in New Jersey. Following his campaigning involvement, from 1984-1991 Freedman worked at NBC and served as a spokesman for the network’s programming. Freedman oversaw the network’s press operation for the U.S.-Russian Reykjavík and Geneva summits, the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the network’s presidential election coverage and managed media relations for NBC Nightly News, “Meet the Press” and the “Today” show.

EXCLUSIVE: Alcon Entertainment has appointed former MGM executive Steven Johnson as EVP, Head of Physical Production.

EXCLUSIVE: CNBC has ordered a new true-crime docuseries from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf.

Gary Lucy has broken his silence after ex Laura Anderson announced that she was expecting their first child together.

William Earl Variety is pleased to announce the return of its Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte, on April 19 in Los Angeles. This year’s summit will feature Karen Bronzo, chief marketing officer, Warner Bros. Discovery; Dwight Caines, president, domestic marketing, Universal Pictures; Marc Weinstock, president, worldwide marketing and distribution, Paramount Pictures; Lisa Vanderpump, TV personality and executive producer of “Vanderpump Rules,” businesswoman, author and philanthropist; Terry Crews, actor, bestselling author, entrepreneur and host; among other elite creative and industry speakers. Bronzo, Caines and Weinstock will be among participants of a Keynote Entertainment Marketing Roundtable, moderated by Claudia Eller, chief production officer, Variety, in which leading film and TV marketers will share how they are promoting their projects to today’s audiences.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International SkyShowtime will complete its European roll-out this month with two remaining launches in Spain and Andorra, Variety can reveal. The two markets, which will launch on Feb. 28, take SkyShowtime’s footprint to over 20 markets and completes its European configuration, allowing the platform to now focus on building out a premium content offering that will help it compete with Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ in Europe. The service is also establishing itself amid a turbulent time for one of its namesake brands. Paramount Global revealed earlier this month that legacy brand Showtime will be renamed as “Paramount+ With Showtime” in a bid to integrate streaming service Paramount+ across both linear and streaming platforms. Showtime co-presidents Gary Levine and Jana Winograde are also exiting their current posts amid the shake-up at the pay-TV channel.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Showtime laid off approximately 120 staffers Monday amid a streaming-focused restructuring that saw the exits of several top execs as the pay TV channel’s team was merged into MTV Entertainment Studios, a spokesperson confirmed. No other details were available regarding which departments within Showtime were impacted, though a source close to the situation tells Variety those cuts could amount to roughly 25% of Showtime’s workforce. As reported earlier Monday, Showtime co-presidents Gary Levine and Jana Winograde are exiting their current posts amid a continuing shakeup at the pay TV channel, with Levine shifting to an advisory role and Winograde leaving Paramount Global entirely.