Starz Greenlights Catherine de Medici Drama Series ‘Serpent Queen’

Catherine Deneuve, Benoît Magimel and Cécile de France, “Peaceful,” directed by Cannes best actress winner Emmanuelle Bercot, will head Studiocanal’s 2021 Berlin slate.“Peaceful” is produced by Les Films du Kiosque, whose credits include “La Belle Epoque” and Bercot’s own “Standing Tall.”Introduced to buyers from Feb.

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Lucas is set as a lead opposite Rose Rollins in Long Slow Exhale, Spectrum Originals’ upcoming drama series from L.A. Finest‘s Pam Veasey, Anton Cropper and John Dove and Paramount TV Studios. After a nine-month exclusive run on Spectrum, the series will air with a second window on BET.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor It’s hard to imagine now, but “Queer As Folk” wasn’t immediately embraced in all corners of the LGBT community. “I remember when we went to film on Canal Street — it’s the gay quarter in Manchester — and there were bar owners who objected to the title,” “Queer” creator Russell T Davies tells me from his home in Wales.

AMC+ announced on Thursday that it has has acquired the rights to three crime drama series: Cold Courage, Kin and Too Close. 

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe series based on Sally Rooney’s book “Conversations With Friends” has cast Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane, Joe Alwyn, and Jemima Kirke in four lead roles, Variety has learned.The Hulu-BBC Three series follows Frances (Oliver), a 21 year old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time. Frances is observant, cerebral and sharp.

EXCLUSIVE: Stephanie Vogt is set as a lead in Glória, Netflix’s upcoming historical spy thriller drama series from SPi production company and RTP.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC is rounding out its recurring cast for its new Katey Sagal-starring series Rebel. Mary McDonnell, Adam Arkin, Matthew Glave and Jalen Thomas Brooks have joined the cast of the series created by Krista Vernoff inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentRenewing a frequent relationship between one of Europe’s highest-profile distributor-curators of foreign language drama series and one of their biggest suppliers, VOD service Walter Presents has swooped on a six-title drama series package from Germany’s ZDF Enterprises.Deal plays off a just-announced exclusive strategic alliance between Walter Presents and Australia’s Stan, owned by Nine Digital, which charges Walter Presents with securing

Fox has given a formal series order to an animated comedy from Emmy Award-winning creator Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty, Community) and Fox-owned animation studio Bento Box Entertainment, to premiere in 2022.

Sweden’s royals are getting a show just like Netflix’s “The Crown”. 

Starz continues to double down on European royalty with its latest series order – an eight-part drama about Catherine de Medici.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered a new one-hour drama series from Martin Gero and Brendan Gall, Variety has learned exclusively.The six-episode series is titled “Breathe.” When a small plane crashes in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, a lone woman must battle the elements and odds to survive.Gero and Gall are co-writing and executive producing the series, with Gero executive producing under his Quinn’s House Production company. Warner Bros.

We’re getting the first look at HBO’s new sci-fi drama series The Nevers, starring Laura Donnelly and Ann Skelly. HBO has released a teaser and first-look images from the series that premieres in April on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

EXCLUSIVE: Mario Tabraue, one of the controversial characters in Netflix’s Tiger King and a drug trafficker widely hailed as the inspiration for Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface, is to be the subject of a limited drama series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterArmie Hammer will no longer star in the upcoming Paramount Plus series “The Offer,” which tells the behind the scenes story of the making of “The Godfather,” Variety has learned from sources.It was announced in early December that Hammer was attached to lead the show in the role of Al Ruddy, who produced “The Godfather” back in 1972. The 10-episode series details Ruddy’s experience working on the iconic film.

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe story behind the U.K.’s notorious phone hacking scandal is coming to the small screen.Director Saul Dibb and writer Luke Neal are developing a multi-part series entitled “Thank You & Goodbye,” which will detail the fall of the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World.Dibb is the BAFTA-nominated director of BBC drama “The Salisbury Poisonings,” while Neal wrote ITV drama “Des.” Rise Films’ Teddy Leifer is executive producing the

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar and Emmy-winning British production company Rise Films is developing the first major television drama series on the phone-hacking scandal that shook the very foundations of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the early noughties.

An animated version of Game of Thrones may be headed to HBO Max. The WarnerMedia streamer is kicking the tires on a potential animated drama series in the world of Game of Thrones, sources confirm to Deadline. The idea is believed in very early, exploratory stages, and there is no concept or creative team on board. A rep for HBO Max had no comment.