ViacomCBS E&Y Group, Multiple Top Producers Partner on Program for First Time BIPOC, Women Directors (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMeredith Ahr is out as president of NBC Entertainment’s Alternative and Reality Group, Variety has confirmed.Ahr’s exit comes a little over two months after the exit of NBC Entertainment head Paul Telegdy over accusations of racist, sexist and homophobic behavior.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO is developing a limited series about SpaceX, the space exploration company founded by Elon Musk.The six-episode series “SpaceX” will be based on the book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCary Fukunaga has signed on to direct the first three episodes of the upcoming Apple World War II drama “Masters of the Air,” Variety has confirmed. He will also join the show’s producing team.In addition, Fukunaga is nearing a first-look deal with Apple through his production company, Parliament of Owls.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBretman Rock has signed with UTA for representation in all areas, Variety has learned exclusively.He continues to be represented by his manager, Dru Sansenbach, and lawyer Will Jacobson at Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen, LLP.A first-generation Asian-American immigrant and a member of the queer community, Rock rose to fame via his social media platforms, which have racked up over 35 million followers.

Connecting… premieres Thursday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.

Elaine Low Senior TV Writer“For Life” star Nicholas Pinnock has been made a producer on the second season of the ABC legal drama from Hank Steinberg and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Variety has learned exclusively.The British actor stars as a man who has lost everything after being unjustly convicted and incarcerated; he subsequently earns a law degree and begins litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.Calling the production

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGary Carr is set to star in the upcoming Amazon series adaptation of the William Gibson novel “The Peripheral,” Variety has learned exclusively.He is now the second actor cast in the series, with Chloë Grace Moretz having been announced as a cast member earlier this week. Carr will star in the role of Wilf, while Moretz will play Flynne Fisher.

Peter White Television EditorLionsgate has struck a first-look television deal with Twilight producer Temple Hill.The Orange Is The New Black producer has inked a multi-year deal to develop and produce scripted programming with the company across broadcast, cable and streaming.On the television side, Temple Hill is behind series including, HBO’s The Outsider, Hulu’s Love, Victor and Looking For Alaska, FXX’s Dave and Mr.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChloë Grace Moretz has been cast in one of the lead roles in the upcoming series adaptation of William Gibson’s “The Peripheral” at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.The series centers on Flynne Fisher (Moretz), a woman trying to hold together the pieces of her broken family in a forgotten corner of tomorrow’s America. Flynne is smart, ambitious and doomed.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNENT Group, the Nordic region’s leading streaming company, has ordered “Two Sisters,” a series based on the bestselling novels by Sweden’s high-profile media personalities Hannah Widell and Amanda Schulman.Yellow Bird, the banner behind “Millennium” and “Wallander,” is producing the eight-part show.

being produced under COVID-19 guidelines, combining elements of that production including powerful readings from Coates’ book and documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage, and animation.Other new cast members just added are Mimi Jones, Ledisi, Greg Alverez Reid, Nate Smith and Olivia Washington.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSamuel L. Jackson is set to reprise the role of Nick Fury in a new Marvel series currently in development at Disney Plus, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.The exact plot details of the show are being kept under wraps, but multiple sources say Jackson is attached to star with Kyle Bradstreet attached to write and executive produce.

Netflix deal.Abudu’s production company EbonyLife becomes the first African production company to close such an agreement with the streaming giant.“The conversation started months and months ago, we’ve been talking about it for ages.

Angela Bassett, Idris Elba, Salma Hayek, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, John Leguizamo, Eva Longoria and Courtney B. Vance and their respective production companies will produce 50 films across Paramount Network, MTV, Comedy Central and more ViacomCBS entities, for first time Black, Indigenous, persons of color and women filmmakers to tell diverse stories in their own voices.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Network is shifting strategies — and changing names.Variety has learned that the ViacomCBS-owned cabler is planning to move out of long form series television and instead focus its efforts on made-for-TV movies featuring big name stars. To that end, the network will be rebranded as the Paramount Movie Network.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNatasha Lyonne and Alia Shawkat are developing a half-hour series at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.Titled “Desert People,” the series follows a family of Iraqi immigrants who run a gentleman’s club in Palm Springs. Shawkat will star as the parents’ adult daughter in LA who is coming to terms with her sexuality and identity as a first generation American.Shawkat and Lyonne co-created the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPhillipa Soo and Jake McDorman have joined the cast of Hulu’s upcoming drama “Dopesick” in recurring guest star roles, Variety has learned exclusively.The series looks into the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, taking viewers from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStarz is in early development on a drama series titled “The Venery of Samantha Bird,” Variety has learned exclusively.The project hails from writer and executive producer Anna Moriarty. Should the show get ordered to series, it would mark her first TV writing credit.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRobert and Michelle King are attached to executive produce a series adaptation of the iHeart Media true crime podcast “Happy Face” currently in development at CBS All Access, Variety has learned.“Happy Face” is inspired by the true story of Melissa Moore, who discovered at age 15 that her father, whom she loved dearly, was the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face.