Showtime Is Hoping To Create “Billions” & “Dexter” Expanded Franchises With Multiple Spinoffs Planned

There’s a huge change coming to Showtime.

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.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is teaming up with husband Ewan McGregor for the third time on screen!

GQ magazine in an interview published on Tuesday that the possibility of bidding farewell to the character after the fourth season would “feel like a death, in a way.” However, he said that he envies some of his peers who have had “that freedom to just shoot yourself out of some different cannons.”“Sometimes Kendall feels like the same cannon over and over again,” Strong added.An HBO spokesperson declined to comment.In addition to Strong, the show’s ensemble cast includes Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, J. Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, Fisher Stevens, Hiam Abbass, Justine Lupe, Dagmara Domińczyk, Arian Moayed, Scott Nicholson, Zoë Winters, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Juliana Canfield and Jeannie Berlin.

The Paramount Global operation under Chris McCarthy continues to shift finished series to Showtime, which was added to his portfolio in November. The Waco sequel, Waco: The Aftermath, which had been produced for Paramount+, will now be carried by Showtime –debuting on streaming and on demand Friday, April 14, and on-air Sunday, April 16, at 10 PM.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mary Elizabeth Winstead has signed on to star opposite Ewan McGregor in the upcoming Showtime & Paramount+ series “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Variety has learned exclusively. McGregor was first reported to be starring in the show back in August 2022. It is an adaptation of the Amor Towles novel of the same name. Production on the limited series is now underway. It will debut on Showtime in the U.S. and on Paramount+ in additional markets around the world. Per the official logline, the series “follows Count Alexander Rostov (McGregor) who, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, finds that his gilded past places him on the wrong side of history. Spared immediate execution, he is banished by a Soviet tribunal to an attic room in the opulent Hotel Metropol, threatened with death if he ever sets foot outside again. As the years pass and some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history unfold outside the hotel’s doors, Rostov’s reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. As he builds a new life within the walls of the hotel, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love.”

Uncoupled, which premiered on Netflix last year, has been given another chance after it was canceled by the streaming service a month ago.The show has been “saved” by Showtime, which has picked up the show for a second season.Uncoupled, created by Darren Star and Jeffrey Richman, features a star-studded cast that includes Neil Patrick Harris, Tuc Watkins, Tisha Campbell, Marcia Gay Harden, Emerson Brooks, and Brooks Ashmanskas.The show follows Michael (Harris), who must find his way in the world as a newly-single gay man after his partner of many years, Colin (Watkins), leaves him suddenly.It sees the middle-aged Harris trying to date, learning what’s changed since he was last on the market, and even investigating dating apps such as Grindr.The good news is that the series has now been picked up by Showtime as part of the network’s new content strategy, which seems to include a renewed focus on diverse groups of people, including the LGBTQ community. According to Deadline, the move to Showtime might also see the show become “edgier and racier” than its Netflix counterpart.One of the series’ stars, Tisha Campbell, had hinted to People recently that the show might not be gone for good.

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.

Monday started with a shock and awe campaign at Showtime as the exits of a slew of top executives were announced in short succession. By the end of the day, about 120 people in total had lost their jobs in the layoffs, sources confirm to Deadline. That represents more than 10% of the company’s workforce.

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.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer That didn’t take long at all: Just after revealing that Showtime co-presidents Jana Winograde and Gary Levine are stepping down from their current roles, with Winograde exiting entirely and Levine moving into an advisory position, parent company Paramount Global has revealed that the remaining Showtime team will be merging with sister brand MTV Entertainment Studios. Within the combined entity — created as Showtime’s linear and streaming platforms are being integrated into Paramount+ and rebranded to Paramount+ With Showtime — a new leadership structure has been set by Paramount’s president and CEO of streaming Tom Ryan and president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks Chris McCarthy.

announcement earlier on Monday that Showtime co-presidents of entertainment Gary Levine and Jana Winograde’s roles would be eliminated; the former executive will take on a senior creative advisor role at the cable-streamer, while Winograde was let go as her position was consolidated. The shake-ups are a result of the larger ramifications of Showtime’s upcoming integration with Paramount+ later this year.Diaz has largely served as an unscripted executive under Paramount’s MTV umbrella, most recently having been president of programming and development for MTV, VH1 and Logo Group.

The full extent of the changes at Showtime have started to emerge as the premium cable network has set its new leadership team under Nina L. Diaz with more executives leaving following the corporate restructure.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer 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. The move, announced by president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks Chris McCarthy in a memo to staff Monday, comes following the Jan. 30 news that both Showtime’s linear and streaming platforms will be integrated into Paramount+ and rebranded as “Paramount+ With Showtime.” “With the integration of Showtime across the company, many of the current functions that Jana oversees including business affairs, production, operations and casting are being centralized and therefore, Jana will be leaving,” McCarthy wrote of Winograde, a six-year vet of the network.

The changes at Showtime continue, with Co-Presidents of Entertainment Gary Levine, and Jana Winograde stepping down from their posts. The announcement was made this morning by Paramount Global’s Chris McCarthy, who took oversight of the pay cable network in the November restructuring that saw longtime Showtime CEO David Nevins leave the company.

rebranding and integration with Paramount+ later this year.As co-presidents, both Levine and Winograde were responsible for developing and supervising all aspects of Showtime Networks programming across all genres, including comedy, drama, unscripted,documentaries and films. The latter exec was also in charge of the company’s production, program operations, business affairs, casting, scheduling, research and home entertainment, operating as liaison to ViacomCBS Global Distribution.

EXCLUSIVE: Uncoupled, has been saved. I hear Showtime is picking up Season 2 (and potentially beyond) of the comedy series, from Emily in Paris creator Darren Star and Modern Family veteran Jeffrey Richman, a couple weeks after the MTV Entertainment Studios-produced show was canceled by Netflix. At the premium network, soon to be renamed Paramount+ with Showtime, Uncoupled is designed to fit into one the three main content lanes recently outlined by new Showtime boss Chris McCarthy, “Metro Cultures”, which spans “culturally diverse takes” like The L Word and The Chi.

EXCLUSIVE: Ripley, an upcoming Showtime drama starring Andrew Scott, has found a new home at Netflix. Deals are still being finalized but the limited series from The Night Of’s Steven Zaillian, based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling quintet of Tom Ripley novels, is headed to the global streamer, I hear. Reps for Netflix and Showtime declined comment.

Three Women has zeroed in on a new home. Starz is in negotiations to pick up the former Showtime series, adapted by Lisa Taddeo from her nonfiction bestseller of the same name, sources tell Deadline.

Three Women has zeroed in on a new home. Starz is in negotiations to pick up the former Showtime series, adapted by Lisa Taddeo from her nonfiction bestseller of the same name, sources tell Deadline.