Vice Studios Global President Kate Ward Joins BBC Studios to Oversee Factual Portfolio (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) will invest £1 million ($1.08 million) over three years to develop and support aspiring natural history filmmakers in the U.K. and globally. The NHU produces popular natural history programs including “Blue Planet II,” “Planet Earth II,” “Seven Worlds,” “One Planet,” presented by David Attenborough, “Dynasties,” “Blue Planet Live” and “Springwatch” In places where the NHU is filming, the initiative will fund opportunities for locally based production talent to access in-country training, offer field experience working with NHU teams on location, and invest in local talent to attend U.K.-based training courses. 

Sky Studios Strikes Podcast-To-Screen Deal With Tortoise Media

EXCLUSIVE: James Reed, director of Oscar-winning Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, has struck a one-year development partnership with BBC Studios.

One adorable cat has traveled a very long way to find his forever home. Chaz, an all-white domestic shorthair cat, is currently up for adoption at King Street Cats in Alexandria, Virginia, after he was rescued in Kuwait. As a small kitten, Chaz was picked on by other cats — as discovered by a caretaker.  Chaz was brought to King Street Cats after spending a year with a rescuer — and was declared to be positive for FIV — feline immunodeficiency virus.  (HIV infects only humans, while FIV infects only cats.

A week-long search for Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett was "not a waste of time" - despite it ending without any remains being found - a senior police officer has claimed.

First-Look Image Of Adam Driver In Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’Today the producers of Michael Mann’s upcoming biopic Ferrari shared first-look images from the film’s set, including Adam Driver in costume as Enzo Ferrari. Check out the image above. The film is shooting in Italy and features Driver alongside Penélope Cruz, who plays Laura Ferrari, and Shailene Woodley as Lina Lardi. The cast is rounded out by Patrick Dempsey, Jack O’Connell, Peter Collins, Sarah Gadon, Linda Christian, and Gabriel Leone. Michael Mann directs from a script he co-wrote with Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job). Set during the summer of 1957, the film follows ex-racecar driver Ferrari as bankruptcy stalks the company he and his wife, Laura, built from nothing ten years earlier. Their tempestuous marriage struggles with the mourning for one son and the acknowledgment of another. He decides to counter his losses by rolling the dice on one race – 1,000 miles across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia.

BBC Studios has taken full control of Firebird Pictures, the British drama indie behind Prime Video’s Wilderness and BBC One’s Wahala.

Annika Pham Partly featured in James Bond’s “No Time to Die,” the rugged Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and their 53,000 inhabitants, were the setting and main inspiration for “Trom”, the first ever Faroese TV series, majority produced by Denmark’s REinvent Studios. The crime show’s creator Torfinnur Jákupsson and joint-producer Jón Hammer have now used the international success of “Trom,” commissioned by Viaplay and co-produced by Arte/ZDF, to up their game. The duo has launched Tórshavn-based GRÓ Studios, the first film and television studio of its kind in the Faroe Islands, covering development through production and sales.

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios has named formats veteran Nicholas Oakley as SVP, Unscripted Development in LA, as the outfit seeks the next generation of hits.

Elizabeth Olsen headed to Westeros? The actress is addressing casting rumors and fan speculation that she might be signing on for HBO's .The star walked the carpet at 's Power of Women gala in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and she spoke with ET's Deidre Behar about the recent rumors that she's been cast in a role on the prequel series.«I don't know how things, like rumors like that, get started, and then people think they're legitimate,» Olsen said with the laugh.While Olsen has talked openly about auditioning to pay Khaleesi years ago — the role that eventually went to Emilia Clarke — she said she had no idea how the speculation began that she's involved with «Dream casting is fun, yeah, but I heard it was, like, announced though, which is weirder,» Olsen said, explaining that several people have told her the casting rumors had been reported as fact. Seeing the record straight the actress said, «I never heard of such a thing.»That being said, Olsen would be happy to be a part of it if something came up.«I mean, sure, yeah.

Chicago Fire is red hot.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Chloe Bennet has signed on for a recurring role in Season 3 of “Dave” at FXX, Variety has learned exclusively. Bennet will appear in a multi-episode arc as Robyn, a photographer from Wisconsin whom Dave meets while on tour. Bennet is known for her role in the ABC-Marvel series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” on which she starred as Daisy “Skye” Johnson, a.k.a Quake, throughout the show’s seven-season run. Her other notable roles include the ABC music drama “Nashville” and the animated Dreamworks film “Abominable.” She will reprise her “Abominable” role in the upcoming spinoff series “Abominable and the Invisible City,” which bows in October on Hulu. She is repped by CAA and Robby Koch at Hansen Jacobson.

Lizzo just played an instrument with a whole lot of history. During the 34-year-old singer's Tuesday concert at Washington, D.C.'s Capital One Arena, Lizzo played a crystal flute gifted to President James Madison by Claude Laurent in 1813, which currently resides at the Library of Congress.«I want everybody to make some noise for James Madison’s crystal flute, y'all,» Lizzo told the crowd as Library curator Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford brought the instrument out onstage.

Billy Eichner’s “Bros” will be making history upon its release as the first R-rated gay rom-com ever made by a major studio, but that historical record certainly won’t include the Middle East. The Universal movie, which hits the U.S. box office on Sept. 30, is set to roll out across most international markets in October and November, but is pre-emptively skipping any kind of release in Middle East markets due to cultural and commercial reasons, sources close to the studio tell Variety. It’s still unclear exactly what markets in the region will be affected, but it’s likely to include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Kuwait — all of which are notorious for censoring movies over even the slightest hint of LGBTQ themes or content.

NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman is at the center of the full-length trailer for the HBO true-crime docuseries,, which returns with season 2 in October. Speaking out for the first time on the series, she admits she was “wrong” about founder Keith Raniere, who was convicted on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy after his wellness group was revealed to be a sex cult and Ponzi scheme. “Going into this, I thought Keith was innocent.

Kate Ward, Vice Studios Global President and the boss of Pulse Films, has joined BBC Studios to oversee factual.

Willie Nelson is reflecting on his long, wild friendship with his late best friend and drummer, Paul English.The country music icon recently spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier and shared stories about his experiences with English while first making it big and then touring the country over the past five decades.«He was my best friend for many, many years,» said Nelson, who chronicled their friendship in his new book, We went up and down the road a long time and had a lot of fun together. He was my best friend.«English first joined Nelson's band in 1966 and served as both the band's drummer, as well as a de facto bodyguard and muscle when needed.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Jamie Yuccas’ new Los Angeles assignment at KCAL is likely to make waves among followers of local news. But it’s part of a big national effort by the station’s owner, Paramount Global. Yuccas, a veteran correspondent at CBS News, will be one of the anchors of a new seven-hour morning block of local newscasts on the CBS-owned station. Yuccas, who will continue to serve as a CBS News correspondent, will anchor from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on KCAL each morning, making her one of the faces viewers will likely see as they get ready for their day. KCAL intends to show news from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m. each day. The company is trying to offer more local news via 14 owned affiliates to both their linear and streaming audiences. Local news spurs deeper connections with viewers, says Wendy McMahon co president of CBS’ news and stations unit, in an interview. “The local news we produce drives impact, and that impact is service to our community, she says. “Ultimately, it has a positive impact on the business.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Demi Moore is joining “Feud” Season 2 at FX, Variety has learned from sources. The second season of the Ryan Murphy anthology series will tell the true story of how Truman Capote was friends with numerous members of New York high society until he published excerpts of his unfinished novel “Answered Prayers,” with the excerpts serving as a tell-all about the city’s elite. According to sources, Moore would star as socialite Ann Woodward, a former showgirl and radio actress who was infamously accused of murdering her husband in 1955. Reps for Moore, FX, and 20th Television declined to comment.