USA Network Orders ‘The Anonymous’ Competition Series From ‘The Traitors’ Producer Studio Lambert

Casting for Netflix’s reality competition series Squid Game: The Challenge was a unique challenge: finding 456 diverse and international lead characters.

Second City Theater.For decades — since 1959 (!) — the improv and sketch institution has served as one of the major training grounds for American comedy. Notable alums include the aforementioned “SNL” players as well as household names Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, John Candy and Martin Short to name just a few from their stacked roster.And now the venerated theater has landed in New York, putting on laugh-out-loud funny, ballsy, personal, physical, immersive shows seven nights a week.So, we checked it out.On April 25, the New York Post attended a production of the theater’s ambitious mainstage revue “Ruthless Acts of Kindness.” To give you an idea of what to expect — and we highly recommend you do — here’s everything you need to know and more about getting your inner Lorne Michaels on and catching a show at New York’s newly opened Second City Theater.Commuting to the Brooklyn theater from Queens, Manhattan or the Bronx?If that’s the case, we suggest boarding either an L train and getting off at the Bedford stop for a 5-10 minute walk to the venue or taking the scenic route and strolling over from the G’s Nassau Avenue stop.

The man behind Co-op Live has revealed exactly why the opening of Manchester's new arena has been delayed again. In an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News, Tim Leiweke explained why the £365m venue has pushed back Peter Kay's two performances for a second time and rescheduled The Black Keys' show tomorrow (April 27).

Lexi Carson The music and lyrics in Broadway’s “Water for Elephants” are expansive and a rich tapestry of American music ranging from folk, to swing, jazz and bluegrass. PigPen, a collective of seven musicians (Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Daniel Weschler, Matt Nuernberger and Ryan Melia) is also a theater company, and that uniqueness made them the perfect fit to bring the show’s music to life. The transition to bring the story to a stage first started in 2014 when PigPen Theatre Co., did a workshop with Rick Elice, “Water for Elephants” scriptwriter, for a different show.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jessica Lange spoke critically of present-day Hollywood during a recent interview with Vulture, saying “there should be a law against it” when the topic came up about Warner Bros. Discovery axing already-shot movies like “Batgirl” and “Coyote vs. Acme” for tax write-off purposes.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Miss USA pageant is expanding its relationship with The CW, sealing a three-year deal that adds Miss Teen USA to the mix. The network announced Thursday that the 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air live on Sunday, Aug. 4., at 8 p.m.

At this point in his career, David Fincher is a Mount Rushmore figurehead of contemporary American cinema for a lot of moviegoers. But that wasn’t always the case. Flashback to the early ’90s, when Fincher, in his mid-20s and primarily a director of commercials, was tapped by 20th Century Fox to helm the much-anticipated sequel “Alien 3.”  The result was disastrous: a $60 million budget blockbuster with a troubled production that scored low with critics and failed to live up to anyone’s lofty expectations.

Michaela Zee Netflix has acquired the series “Calabasas” from executive producers Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts and “Pretty Little Liars” creator I. Marlene King, Variety has confirmed.

Taylor Swift album.And, of course, that’s Travis Kelce — the Super Bowl champ sweetheart of the pop superstar.In fact, getting love from the 34-year-old singer on her highly anticipated 11th studio LP — “The Tortured Poets Department,” which dropped on Friday — might be an even bigger win than getting that Super Bowl ring.“The Alchemy” is a sexy slow dance that is unabashedly about Kelce, with Swift staking claim to her stud.“So when I touch down all that matters/Call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team/Ditch the clowns, get the crown/Baby I’m the one to beat/’Cause the sign on your heart said it’s still reserved for me.”All right now, Miss Tay.As if there was doubt about just who she was putting on lock, the Swift — who famously dashed into her boo’s arms for an iconic smooch when his Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers in February — later adds, “Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me.”The couple began dating last summer and went public with their relationship in September 2023.Swift has not been shy about her romance with Kelce, ratcheting up the TV ratings for the NFL when she cheered on her boyfriend from the stands at multiple games.“When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” Swift told Time in December, when she was named the magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year.“The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone,” she added.

William Earl “The Gray House,” the Kevin Costner-produced limited series about a female spy ring during the Civil War, will open Monaco’s 63rd annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival in June. The six-episode limited series tells the hidden-history tale of four Southern women — a Virginia socialite and her mother, a formerly enslaved Black woman and a high-end prostitute — who served as key espionage agents for the Union. The foursome are credited as unsung heroes who helped end the nation’s brutal cleavage in 1865.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Golden Axe” animated series has been greenlit at Comedy Central, Variety has learned. Based on the beloved Sega games of the same name, the show hails from co-creators Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,” “Perry Mason”), Danny Pudi (“Community,” “Mythic Quest”), Lisa Gilroy (“Jury Duty,” “Interior Chinatown”), Liam McIntyre (“Spartacus,” “The Flash”), and Carl Tart (“Grand Crew,” “Star Trek: Lower Decks”) will lead the voice cast.

It’s hard to believe American Idol first premiered more than two decades ago!

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor HarbourView Equity Partners has made an investment in Mucho Mas Media, the Los Angeles-based content company behind the new golf-themed movie “The Long Game.” The deal calls for HarbourView Equity to executive produce films with Mucho Mas co-CEOs Javier Chapa and Vincent Cordero. With HarbourView’s investment, Mucho Mas intends to expand the scope of its activity in film and TV.

Stormy Daniels Doc Finds Global Distribution

Rachel Seo “I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.” So begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer,” which, when released in 2015, was hailed for its humorous, biting interrogation of American perspectives on the Vietnam War. Integrating elements of the espionage thriller à lá John le Carré with a heavy sense of irony reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” “The Sympathizer” is told from the viewpoint of an officer in the U.S.-supported South Vietnam army who secretly reports back to communists in North Vietnam.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Netflix has acquired “Rather,” the documentary about veteran journalist Dan Rather‘s landmark career in news. The film, which premieres April 24 on the streamer, utilizes the story of of Rather’s life on television to also explore the evolution of broadcast journalism, the troubles a free press now faces, along with the slide of American society from hard-fought advances in social justice and democratic freedoms.

The Cannes Film Festival has just revealed (another) a dazzling lineup for its 77th edition.

Producers in Southeast Asia are facing a very different, much quieter landscape to the one in front of them just 12 months ago, as U.S. players rein in their spending to appease shareholders, and neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan and India draw attention.

Diddy has shared the music video for his 1998 song ‘Victory’ to social media; showing him running away from the police and causing a stir amidst ongoing sexual assault allegations.Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been under fire after reports revealed US Homeland Security are investigating him for sexual trafficking. The rap entrepreneur’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided last month while Combs was not there.The rapper has denied any wrongdoing, while his lawyer labelled the raids “a witch hunt” that was a “gross use of military-level force”.

EXCLUSIVE: HarbourView Equity Partners, the investment company that bought into Charles D. King’s Macro last year, is putting more money into the film and television business.