‘Woke,’ ‘New Girl’ Star Lamorne Morris Signs with CAA (EXCLUSIVE)

Manori Ravindran International EditorKyrre Holm Johannessen, the creator and showrunner of Netflix series “The Girl From Oslo,” has signed with CAA for representation.Originally from Norway, Johannessen began his career in television, writing on the 2016 comedy drama “Meglerne,” about a corrupt real estate broker who suddenly finds himself tutoring a self-absorbed student. He is also a well-known TV presenter, having hosted various programs for Norway’s public broadcaster NRK, including “Karate,” “Kyrre” and “P3morgen.”Johannessen was the head writer for the 2017 satirical comedy series “Folkevalgt” (“Elected”) for Norwegian broadcaster TV2, which follows nine young politicians from different parties fighting for a seat in Norway’s Parliament.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Sex Education” star Mimi Keene has signed with UTA in all areas.Keene stars in Netflix comedy “Sex Education” as Ruby Matthews opposite Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson and new “Doctor Who” star Ncuti Gatwa. Keene’s Ruby is one of the main characters on the show, and rules over fictional high school Moordale with an iron fist, but goes on a journey in the show’s later seasons, eventually striking up a relationship with Butterfield’s Otis Milburn.“Sex Education,” one of Netflix’s biggest shows out of the U.K.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“The Daily Show” is hitting the road for midterms again. This fall, host Trevor Noah will take his Comedy Central late-night series to battleground territory in Atlanta, Ga.While on-the-ground election coverage is nothing new for “The Daily Show,” which has previously moved to Ohio and Florida for midterms, the decision to head to Georgia for the first time is “highlighting key races and broader voting issues,” per the Paramount show.

Angelique Jackson UTA has signed multi-hyphenate entertainer Hannibal Buress for worldwide representation in all areas.While Buress is primarily known for his stand-up comedy and acting roles as well as his work as a writer, producer and podcaster, he also has strong ties to the music industry, where he goes by the alter-ego Eshu Tune. In April 2022, Buress released his debut self-titled EP, in which he wrote and performed all the tracks.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe 2022 Women in Entertainment Summit has added several notable speakers to its lineup, including Connie Britton (“The White Lotus”), Sofia Carson (“Feel the Beat,” “Descendants”), Chandler Kinney (“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”) and Reign Edwards (“The Wilds”), Variety has learned exclusively.The actresses will all participate in fireside chats at the June 22 event, which marks WIE’s first summit since 2019 and its sixth overall.As Variety first reported earlier this week, the 2022 WIE summit’s panel topics include “how creatives keep a beloved story relevant to up and coming audiences, how media companies are expanding their offerings to meet the needs of today’s consumers, how to negotiate deals within the IP and talent rights space, and much more.” Previously announced speakers for Women in Entertainment Summit 2022 include Paul Feig, Karen Pittman and Alexandra Shipp, among dozens of other executive producers, writers, executives and stars from within the entertainment and media industries.This edition of WIE will be held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California on June 22.Founded by Renee Rossi (Relativity Ventures) and Gretchen McCourt, WIE aims to bring together women and men who are “dedicated to celebrating the empowerment of women in all areas of the entertainment industry.”“Our mission is and always has been to share knowledge from incredible women who have built successful businesses in the world of entertainment and media,” Rossi said when the return of WIE Summit was revealed.

EXCLUSIVE: Range Media Partners has signed multi-hyphenate artist Ashley Walters (Top Boy) for representation.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNat Geo’s “SharkFest” is turning 10 and marking the occasion by enlisting sister Disney brands ABC, ESPN and Hulu to help air its largest programming slate ever across the most platforms it has ever been on, Variety has learned exclusively.While “SharkFest” aired during a six-week period last year, making the 2021 edition the longest “SharkFest” ever, that lineup was limited to Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo, Disney XD and Disney+.This time around, Nat Geo is putting out nearly 30 hours of new content and 60 hours of “enhanced” programming over four weeks beginning July 10, its most-packed “SharkFest” schedule on record. And that increased content load is spread out not just across Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo, Disney XD and Disney+, but also broadcast network ABC, cabler ESPN and streamer Hulu, making it an historic occasion for the decade-old fin-tastic event.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Silos Baking Competition” premiered to record-setting ratings for Magnolia Network Sunday, a turnout Chip and Joanna Gaines apparently saw coming a mile away, as their channel is already in pre-production on another baking competition series, Variety has learned exclusively.That unannounced baking competition is the first of several in the works at the cable channel, according to one source close to production.Simulcast across Food Network and Magnolia Network, a joint venture between the Gaineses and Warner Bros. Discovery, the one-hour premiere of “Silos Baking Competition,” which takes place at Chip and Jo’s Waco-based bakery, Silos Baking Co., drew more than 1.5 million viewers Sunday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJune is ’90s month on Vice TV. But based on its recent programming decisions, it could be argued that the cable network is currently in a perpetual state of ’90s month.With the debut of “Dark Side of the 90’s” Season 2 on Tuesday and the July 12 premiere of Nacelle Company’s docuseries “Icons Unearthed: Star Wars,” Morgan Hertzan, Vice TV executive vice president and general manager, tells Variety his team’s goal with this content is to reach the Gen X audience through its seemingly endless love for the era.“Obviously, a lot of media has focused on millennials, a lot of media is focused on the ‘Greatest Generation,'” Hertzan said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThis year marks the 30th anniversary of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s “Brother’s Keeper,” which, as Berlinger says, is “one of the granddaddies of the true-crime docu movement.”It’s true that the 1992 film about the bizarre murder trial of Delbert Ward, who was accused of the “mercy killing” of his brother in rural upstate New York, was an early entrant in our collective societal obsession with the unscripted true-crime format, which in recent years has crossed over to the scripted side.As one of the founding fathers of the format that has piqued our interest in true crime to the point where limited series including “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” “The Staircase,” “The Dropout,” “Inventing Anna,” “Dr. Death,” “A Very British Scandal,” and several more are all competing in the same Emmys’ cycle, Berlinger has some unique insight into the nonfiction-to-dramatized evolution.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Women in Entertainment (WIE) Summit will return with its sixth annual event this June, taking place for the first time since 2019, Variety has learned exclusively.Founded by Renee Rossi (Relativity Ventures) and Gretchen McCourt, WIE aims to bring together women and men who are “dedicated to celebrating the empowerment of women in all areas of the entertainment industry.” Held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California on June 22, the 2022 summit with panel topics including “how creatives keep a beloved story relevant to up and coming audiences, how media companies are expanding their offerings to meet the needs of today’s consumers, how to negotiate deals within the IP and talent rights space, and much more.” The current lineup of speakers for WIE Summit 2022 include:Erika Anderson, West Coast Director, The Slate GroupCasey Kriley, Co-CEO of Magical Elves (Top Chef, Nailed It)Anjali Midha, CEO & Co-Founder of Diesel LabsTeri Weiss, Executive VP, Television Development, DreamWorks Animation;Anastasia Puglisi, Senior Vice President at Wolf Entertainment (FBI: Most Wanted, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)Dana Block, Senior Vice President of Digital Entertainment and Consumer Technology at Metro Public RelationsAlexandra Moore, Global Strategic Initiatives Leader at Amazon MusicJess Kessler, Head of Content & Creator Marketing at AudibleJennifer Brunsweiger, Senior Director of Content Marketing at ShutterstockKaitlyn Powell, VP of Talent at BrightLisa Guerrero, Investigative Journalist at Inside EditionJeanne Mau, Senior Vice President, TV Programming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at NBCUniversalIram Bilal, Filmmaker (I’ll Meet You There)Zakiyyah Alexander, Executive

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterCAA’s strategic consulting service CAA Social Impact has struck a partnership with global sustainability company Aspiration to provide sustainability services, carbon reduction services and customer-centric climate impact solutions to corporate, sports and entertainment industry brands, Variety has learned exclusively.Per the companies, “CAA Social Impact and Aspiration recognize the importance of sustainability as a winning business strategy and the opportunity for sports and entertainment to play a critical role in influencing culture, to build public will for solutions in the face of a deepening climate crisis.”With an increase in companies’ awareness and focus on their sustainability efforts, “the partnership enables CAA Social Impact and Aspiration to combine their expertise and resources to develop sustainability and carbon mitigation strategies for leading brands and organizations.” Additionally, Aspiration is working closing with CAA on its own carbon reduction efforts. Run by Aubree Curtis and Judee Ann Williams, CAA Social Impact has led philanthropic work for companies including KPMG, Walmart, PGA TOUR, Continental (Germany), Volvo (UK), and AppHarvest, and helped shape strategies for organizations including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Alzheimer’s Association.“Businesses urgently need clear and comprehensive solutions to curb their emissions and improve their impact on the planet,” Curtis said.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Made for Love” has been canceled at HBO Max after two seasons, Variety has confirmed exclusively.“We are tremendously grateful for the truly spectacular journey of these past two seasons, courtesy of Alissa Nutting, Christina Lee, Cristin, Billy, Ray and the entire ‘Made for Love’ cast and creative team – especially Zelda the talking dolphin and everyone’s favorite synthetic love interest, Diane,” representatives for HBO Max said in a statement Friday. “Like a Gogol chip, the series will always be on our minds.”The cancellation of the Cristin Milioti-led Max original comes on the heels of one of the streamer’s other titles, Ridley Scott’s “Raised by Wolves,” getting the axe earlier this week amid ongoing shakeups at HBO Max’s new parent company, Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Captain America, The Purge and Copshop star Frank Grillo is set to star in action movie MR-9, which is shooting imminently in the U.S. and Bangladesh.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterKids’ television industry vet Cyma Zarghami’s MiMo Studios has launched a new preschool series aimed at preparing young children for consuming content and games in the Metaverse, Variety has learned exclusively.Titled “@HippoPark,” the animated kids’ series is described as “a place where you can splash, climb, run, slide and play with your friends all of the time. You might see a hippo, you might pilot a plane, you might grow your own garden, you might dance in the rain.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterChicken Soup for the Soul Studios has picked up two new shows, including a new wedding talk show hosted by Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski, and renewed Joe Morton’s Crackle series “Inside the Black Box” for a second season, Variety has learned exclusively.Created in collaboration with wedding-centric media company Love Stories TV, Lipinski’s series is titled “Wedding Talk” and includes event planner José Rolón and wedding designer Jove Meyer as her co-hosts. Chicken Soup for the Soul Studios, the production arm of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, has also picked up “World’s Best Wedding,” another Love Stories TV-backed reality show that follows couples from different cultures, background and orientations as they tie the knot.

EXCLUSIVE: Maria Shriver has signed with CAA for representation. The agency will now help to identify opportunities for the Peabody and multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist, and for her company Shriver Media, through unscripted and scripted television content, film, summits—like her recent Sounds True collaboration, Radically Reframing Aging—and podcasting. CAA will also pursue opportunities in the publishing space for her digital outlet The Sunday Paper and her Penguin Random House imprint The Open Field, while repping Shriver for speaking engagements.

EXCLUSIVE: Emma Laird has signed with CAA. She was most recently seen her star-making role in the Paramount+ series The Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner. The first season was huge success for the streamer and was recently renewed for a second season and will go into production this fall.