News

Exclusive: Premiere Entertainment Group (Peg), the L.A.-based production and sales company, has acquired worldwide rights to holiday rom-com film Love Unexpected, which will star Britt Robertson (The Longest Ride).

Production is set to start in December in the Greater Colorado Springs area.

Robertson will star as a popular social media influencer who visits her sister’s family for the holidays and takes it upon herself to save the Magical Christmas Parade with the help of her fans and an unexpected flame from the past.

Wendy Faraone (Saving Christmas Spirit) will be directing from an original screenplay by Disney’s Liv and Maddie creators John D. Beck and Ron Hart. Persephone Hawkins is producing for Pandora Persephone Films. Elias Axume serves as executive producer for Premiere Entertainment.

Premiere Entertainment recently launched talks with buyers on the project at the American Film Market (AFM) in Las Vegas. Additional casting is underway.

Exclusive: CBS is developing the comedy series Feebs from CBS Studios and co-creators Michael Kramer and Lilli Birdsell, sources tell Deadline.

The single-cam series is an ensemble character-driven comedy following two sisters who love and hate each other and are thrown together as agents for the FBI. With their sibling rivalry on display in front of their teammates, the two must use their lifelong contention to fight for justice and not just with each other. 

Former CBS programming chief Thom Sherman executive produces via his Play Well Entertainment banner. Three-time Emmy winner Todd Holland will direct the pilot and executive produce alongside Sherman, Kramer and Birdsell.

Kramer is an Emmy-nominated writer who has sold numerous comedy pilots to CBS, Disney, Sony, Universal, USA Network and TBS, and developed a new Flintstones animated series for Warner Bros. He has also written for multiple series including Suits,...

Like the end of a slo-mo music montage on the beach, “Baywatch” reboot has found a home: Fox has closed on a script+penalty deal for a new version of the long-running surf-sand-and-saviors series from Fremantle.

Fox and Fremantle have tapped Lara Olsen (“Spinning Out”) to serve as showrunner for the new “Baywatch,” which was originally created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz and Gregory J. Bonann. Starring David Hasselhoff, “Baywatch” originally ran from 1989 to 1999 and then was retooled as “Baywatch: Hawaii” from 1999 to 2001.

Olsen, Berk, Bonann and Schwartz will serve as exec producers on the one-hour drama, which comes from both Fremantle and Fox Entertainment. Here’s the new logline: “Daring ocean rescues, pristine beaches, and iconic red bathing suits are back, along with a whole new generation of Baywatch lifeguards, who navigate complicated, messy personal lives in this action-packed reboot that demonstrates there’s the family you’re born...

The Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg-produced World War II series Masters of the Air has something that its predecessors did not: a bona fide movie star in the lead role. Thanks to his award-winning role as the King himself in 2022’s Elvis, Austin Butler has burst onto the scene as a major acting force. And he brings that gravitas with him to portray Gale “Buck” Cleven in the nine-episode Apple TV+ series about WWII bomber pilots.

Cleven is the perfect role for the brooding Butler – a quiet, confident figure that the rest of his crew looks up to. Cleven also serves as the culmination of years of work for the actor just as much as the Elvis Presley gig did. As a teen, Butler made the Disney and Nickelodeon TV show circuit via a mix of one-off and recurring roles on Zoey 101, Hannah Montana, iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place,...

Fans of Jessica Chastain and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” are in for another disappointment: The Oscar winner confirmed there is “zero possibility” she will star in the film adaptation.

Netflix first announced a feature film version of the 2017 novel — about a fictional Old Hollywood movie star who gives her final interview — back in 2022. Writer Liz Tigelaar (who’s worked on “Brothers & Sisters” and created the CW series “Life Unexpected”) was attached to pen the script, with Leslye Headland (“Russian Doll” co-creator and “The Acoylte” showrunner) attached to direct.

“I love how excited the fans are,” Chastain told E! News in a recent interview. “When I was working on Broadway, every single day, they’d be outside, when I was signing, with the books. I just love how wonderful that fan base is.”

Fans campaigned on social media for Chastain to play Celia St.

Kristoffer Polaha is one of the most beloved stars of Hallmark Channel movies and now he’s back on the small screen as Jack in the new film A Biltmore Christmas.

The 46-year-old actor is also known for his roles in the TV shows Life Unexpected for The CW and Get Shorty for Epix. He has also been seen in movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and Jurassic World: Dominion.

So, is Kristoffer single or married in real life?

Keep reading to find out more…

Kristoffer has been married to his wife Julianne since 2003 and they have three sons together, including 17-year-old Micah Max Polaha, who is a budding actor most recently seen in the series Harlan Coben’s Shelter for Prime Video.

Make sure to see all the real-life Hallmark Channel couples too.

Check out some of the cute family photos from Instagram below and browse through the gallery for Kristoffer and...

Exclusive: Actress Arielle Kebbel, known for roles in The Vampire Diaries and John Tucker Must Die, has signed with Independent Artist Group.

Kebbel is perhaps most familiar to television audiences given her role on the aforementioned CW show, in which she played the charismatic and wise-beyond-her-300 years vampire, Lexi Branson. Previously, she’s held prominent roles on HBO’s Ballers opposite Dwayne Johnson, as well as the NBC series Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector and Midnight, Texas. The actress has also been seen on shows like UnREAL, Gilmore Girls, Grand Hotel, Life Unexpected, Grounded for Life, The League, The Grinder, and 90210, among others.

On the big screen, Kebbel has recently been seen in the final three installments of the popular After series of YA romantic dramas, based on the novels by Anna Todd: After We Fell, After Ever Happy, and After Everything. She also starred in Fifty...

The decision to pick up Sullivan’s Crossing wasn’t a huge departure for the CW; romantic, field-good series like Hart of Dixie, Life Unexpected and Everwood have long been hallmarks of the network..

Still, the show was immediately labeled as a cheap import because it first launched in Canada in March, where it became CTV’s highest-rated drama launch on over two years. It is produced by Reel World Management in association with CTV with Fremantle as global distributor. It’s from Roma Roth and Christopher E. Perry, the team behind Netflix’s Virgin River.

“We have to be entrepreneurial. We can’t just write a $10 million per-episode check for a show with some dragons in it,” President Brad Schwartz said during the upfronts in May.

Austin Butler may have been swinging his hips (and arguably losing his natural voice) as the King of Rock ‘n Roll for Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” but the Oscar-nominated actor has been a chameleon onscreen for close to two decades.

Starting off in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon tween series like “Hannah Montana” and “Zoey 101,” Butler got his start back in 2005 as a teen star before working with major directors such as Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino.

“I was sort of embarrassed about some of the things that I had to do,” Butler admitted in 2022. “But I had to cut my teeth somewhere, so I decided to treat each one of these jobs as a way to grow.”

Butler made his TV debut with back-to-back roles in “Hannah Montana,” “iCarly,” and “Zoey 101,” before later joining The CW dramas “Life Unexpected” and “Switched at Birth.” Butler then joined the “Sex and the City...

When writer Liz Tigelaar isn’t on set, in her Fox lot bungalow office or at the Venice home she shares with her wife, their 7-year-old son and two French bulldogs, she occasionally relaxes at (and, yes, works from) one of the tonier trailer parks on the planet: Malibu’s Paradise Cove. That’s where she’s shared a petite beach house with longtime friend and fellow TV producer Erica Messer (Criminal Minds) and her family for the past decade. “We joke that we remodeled it with the efficiency of two showrunners,” says Tigelaar. “It was just ‘Yep! Yep! Yep!’ … The quickest choices possible.”

Since creating her first series, The CW’s Life Unexpected, back in 2009, Connecticut native Tigelaar has become one of the most sought-after scribes in the adaptation business — shepherding spins on Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things (out April 7 on Hulu...

Austin Butler could have been a contender for Hannah Montana’s heart.

The “Elvis” Golden Globe winner reflected on the intensity he would bring to Disney and Nickelodeon roles, most famously as a suitor for Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) in the eponymous hit TV series. Butler starred in two episodes of “Hannah Montana,” with his second appearance playing Derek Hanson, Hannah’s blind date in Season 2 Episode 7, titled “My Best Friend’s Boyfriend.”

He additionally had roles in “iCarly” and “Zoey 101,” both of which landed modern-day revival series.

“I look back on the Nickelodeon and Disney shows that I did; even though my skill wasn’t there, I still wanted to give the energy [as if] I was going to make ‘Raging Bull,'” Butler told Backstage magazine. “I kept that fierce dedication toward trying to find more truth, even in things where it could be easier to just phone it in.

Hallmark Channel is planning ahead. Next month, the network will begin production on their first holiday movie of 2023.

“A Biltmore Christmas,” led by Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha, will film entirely on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, a national historic landmark known for its classic holiday traditions. Dustin Rikert serves as executive producer with Andrew Gernhard producing. John Putch directs the script, written by Marcy Holland.

“Each year we look for ways to create exciting, new holiday viewing experiences for our audience,” says Samantha Dipippo, senior vice president of development and programming at Hallmark Media. “We know fans will love being transported back in time and the iconic, beautiful Biltmore Estate is the perfect setting to help fans get into the holiday spirit.”

Lenz, best known for her role on “One Tree Hill,” has starred in many movies for Hallmark through the years, including “Poinsettias for Christmas...

When most people think of foster care, they usually think about what they've seen on TV, which isn't a lot.

It's just one of those things writers don't tend to dig deep into, except for a few choice storylines that usually end up on the cutting floor.

If you're a fan of family dramas, though, there's a good chance you know about The Fosters.

The Fosters was a Freeform series that featured a family thrown into disarray when a teenage girl (Maia Mitchell) and her younger brother (Hayden Byerly) end up placed in their care.

There's also a good chance you remember its spinoff, Good Trouble, which is currently in its fifth season and features several characters from the latter living their college lives in Los Angeles. 

While both shows showed you a side of the system not typically shown on broadcast, another, just three years before, was also doing that.

Exclusive: NCIS: Hawai’i, Walker: Independence and Nancy Drew executive producer Larry Teng has set up two drama projects at CBS. The network is developing Teng’s military drama Eagle Eye with FBI co-creator Craig Turk, and crime drama Mastermind from Sallie Patrick (Dynasty), Nina Tassler and Denise Di Novi’s PatMa Productions and Cj Entertainment’s K-drama producer and distributor Studio Dragon (Netflix’s Crash Landing on You). CBS Studios, where Teng is under an overall deal, is the studio for both projects, executive produced and to be directed by Teng.

Related Story Jenna Bans Sells Projects To NBC With Bill Krebs & Heather Mitchell, Including Put Pilot ‘Grosse Pointe Garden Society’ Related Story 'They're With Me' Blended Family Comedy From Dana Klein, Mat Harawitz, Kapital & TrillTV In Works At CBS Related Story CBS SkyCam Cable Snaps, Causing 12-Minute Delay In NY Jets-Buffalo Bills Game

Written and executive produced by Turk,...

Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI, will be part of an “upgrade” to the Bureau — whether they like it or not! — as revealed in a full-length trailer for The Rookie: Feds, ABC’s upcoming offshoot of (you guessed it) The Rookie.

The Rookie: Feds (yes, the colon is officially back!) stars Niecy Nash-Betts as the charmingly headstrong Simone, who was introduced in a springtime two-parter of The Rookie. In that backdoor pilot, Officer John Nolan (played by Nathan Fillion) and the L.A. division of the FBI enlisted the onetime guidance counselor’s help when one of her former...

It's always a pleasure when we get the opportunity to chat with Kristoffer Polaha.

He's a very busy man with a role in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion film and Lifetime's Buried in Barstow, in which he stars with Angie Harmon.

We talked with Kristoffer about those projects and the short film he recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Kristoffer is taking full advantage of the world opening up again. The last time we talked, he shared how much he managed to accomplish during the Covid lockdowns, and now he's getting out there promoting that work.

We talked just before Cannes, and Kristoffer couldn't hide his excitement about his film.

"A little film that I directed, called "The Work of Art," was one of eight films selected at Cannes do the impact of emerging filmmakers showcase; we were chosen to be a part of this festival," he said.

"I'm...

“Don’t Be Cruel” about Austin Butler’s child star past, because it led him to where he is today.

Just weeks before the “Elvis” actor jets off to Cannes for the premiere of the Baz Luhrmann historical epic, Butler revealed to Vogue that his Disney Channel roles still weigh on his mind.

“I was sort of embarrassed about some of the things that I had to do,” Butler admitted. “But I had to cut my teeth somewhere, so I decided to treat each one of these jobs as a way to grow.”

Butler made his TV debut in 2007 with back-to-back roles in “Hannah Montana,” “iCarly,” and “Zoey 101,” before later joining The CW tween dramas “Life Unexpected” and “Switched at Birth.” Butler then joined the “Sex and the City” universe in prequel series “The Carrie Diaries,” settling into a heartthrob boyfriend stereotype.

Butler opened up about “quitting acting altogether,...

Exclusive: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is being turned into a Netflix movie with Little Fires Everywhere creator Liz Tigelaar adapting.

The book, which has recently spent 54 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller Paperback list, four years after publishing, and has turned into a TikTok book phenomenon, follows reclusive Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo, who chooses an unknown reporter, Monique Grant, to tell her life story. Evelyn recounts her time in the Golden Age of Hollywood, her rise to fame, and her seven marriages — revealing stunning secrets and lies. But through it all one question remains: Why has she chosen Monique for her final confession?

Producing the project are Liza Chasin for 3Dot Productions and Brad Mendelsohn for Circle of Confusion. The feature project continues Netflix’s creative partnership with Chasin and 3Dot. EPs are Reid and Margaret Chernin

Tigelaar was most recently creator,...

Former Midnight, Texas resident Arielle Kebbel has been dialed up by Fox’s 9-1-1.

According to our sister site Deadline, Kebbel will fill the major recurring role of Lucy Donato, an Lafd Firefighter who works at rival Firehouse 147. Described as “super confident, fearless and is as quick at making life or death decisions as she is at speaking her mind,” Lucy is likened to being the 147’s daredevil version of Oliver Stark’s Buck.

More from TVLineRatings: The Resident Returns Steady, Fox's Real Dirty Dancing StumblesThe Real Dirty Dancing Premiere: Did You Have the Time of Your Life?The Resident EP Explains 'Complicated,...

Endeavor Content has optioned Emily Ziff Griffin’s New Yorker essay “The Last Dance with My Dad” for film, with Lynette Howell Taylor and Samantha Housman on board to produce the adaptation for 51 Entertainment.

The Last Dance with My Dad is billed as a coming-of-age story about a father-daughter bond set against the backdrop of unique and unexpected life-changing realities. In the article published September 2, Griffin reflects on a Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico cruise for gay men that she took with her father as a teen at the height of the AIDS epidemic in 1991.

Griffin will handle the screenplay adaptation and exec produce the project.

“This film is a love letter to my dad, and to the gay community that raised me. It’s a story of joy and freedom and connection,” said Griffin, “and I could not be more thrilled to have the support of 51 Entertainment...

My career started exactly 20 years ago when I was cast in a pilot for Fox called “The 3rd Degree” with Jensen Ackles and Maggie Lawson. I was almost two years out of college and living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn where I had a unique view of the Twin Towers from my rooftop.

In that pilot, our characters were students at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice and we solved crimes in between classes. It was pitched as “CSI” meets “Scooby Doo.” One scene took place in the six acre plaza of the World Trade Center. The camera focused on the top floors of the South Tower and slowly panned down the face of the building to find us sitting on the Cloud Fortress sculpture by Masayuki Nagare. After work, we went to the top of the South Tower, enjoyed the view and talked about what it’d be like to...

Which final two CW shows should move forward into the oh-so-Sweet 16?

In honor of The CW’s 15-year anniversary on Sept. 18, TVLine’s tournament to crown the network’s Best Show Ever continues with the final two battles in the round of 32. Next up, the Nancy Drew Crew faces off against The Originals, while One Tree Hill is matched up against Life Unexpected. Which two will be the last to qualify for the Sweet 16 round?

More from TVLineCW Tournament: Legacies vs. Supergirl! Smallville vs. Reaper!The CW Orders Nancy Drew SpinoffDC's Stargirl Recap: Paint Brawl -- Plus, Who Is Developing Powers?...

Four more CW shows have entered the fight for network glory — three series from The CW’s past and one from its present, to be exact.

In honor of The CW’s 15-year anniversary on Sept. 18, TVLine’s tournament to crown the network’s Best Show Ever continues with more battles in the round of 32. Next up: All American faces off against Hart of Dixie, while Gossip Girl is matched up against The Secret Circle.

More from TVLineThe CW's Best Show Ever Tournament: Arrow vs. Ringer! The 100 vs. Crazy Ex!The Republic of Sarah Cancelled at The Cwdc's Stargirl Recap: Paint Brawl -- Plus,...

HollyShorts Film Festival Announces Dates and Lineup

Short films starring Taika Waititi, Jessica Chastain, Tiffany Haddish and those produced by Octavia Spencer and Leonardo DiCaprio are among highlights of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, running Sept. 23-Oct. 1 at the Tcl Chinese Theatres and online.

Selections include Spencer Susser’s “Save Ralph,” starring Zac Efron, Waititi and George Lopez; Aneil Karia’s “The Long Goodbye” starring Riz Ahmed; Orlando von Einsiedel’s “Into Dust” produced by DiCaprio; Aidan Tanner’s “The Sands Between” starring Chastain; Minsun Park and Teddy Tenenbaum’s “Koreatown Ghost Story,” starring Margaret Cho; Zeberiah Newman’s “Right to Try,” produced by Spencer.

Other films on the slate are: Geoff Dunbar’s “When Winter Comes”; Lindiwe Suttle Müller-Westernhagen’s “Desmond’s Not Here Anymore;” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman’s “Life Unexpected,” Julien Joslin’s “No Longer Suitable for Use,” Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe’s Oscar-Winning “Two Distant Strangers,...

Exclusive: Traci Blackwell has stepped down as EVP, Scripted Programming for BET Networks after a year and a half, a network spokesperson confirmed to Deadline. A replacement will be announced shortly.

Based in Los Angeles and reporting to BET Networks President Scott Mills, Blackwell led development, casting and current of original scripted programming for the BET linear network and the company’s SVOD service, BET+. The position was created in late 2019 amid a scripted expansion — both on the linear network and the SVOD service — fueled by several creative partnerships, most notably with Tyler Perry who has generated a slew of new series for BET and BET+.

Mills announced Blackwell’s departure in a company email Tuesday afternoon, which also included a message from her. In the memo, Mills noted that “BET leads the industry in the creation of Black scripted content by volume.” The network’s 14 scripted series in 2021, including series from Tyler Perry,...

Jennifer Breslow, most recently a content executive at Netflix, is joining Legendary Television as its executive vice president of TV and digital media.

“Jennifer’s proven track record of identifying, developing and creating world class storytelling for global audiences makes her the ideal candidate to join Legendary as we continue to scale our television and digital media footprint,” said Legendary head of television Chris Albrecht. “We are excited to have her as a leader on the Legendary team.”

Breslow, who will report to Albrecht in her new role, was most recently responsible for Netflix’s “Fate: The Winx Saga” and “Firefly Lane.” She first joined the streaming company in 2016 as director of content for international original series and has worked on a variety of series in Mexico, Brazil, India, Korea, France, Sweden and Italy. Breslow spent most of 2018 building out Netflix’s team and European content hub from Amsterdam, while...

Legendary Television has appointed Netflix’s original series executive Jennifer Breslow as EVP, Television & Digital Media. She will report to Chris Albrecht, Head of Legendary Television.

As Director of Content for International Original Series at Netflix, a position Breslow held since 2016, she worked on a variety of series in such territories as Mexico, Brazil (O Mecanismo), India (Sacred Games), Korea (Love Alarm), France, Italy and Sweden (Quicksand). She spent most of 2018 living in Amsterdam to help build Netflix’s team and content hub in Europe while overseeing the slates for France and Italy.

In April of 2019, Breslow transitioned from international originals to US series, and was responsible for such popular new shows as Fate: The Winx Saga and Firefly Lane.

Prior to joining Netflix, Breslow was SVP and VP of Scripted Series at A+E Networks’ Lifetime,...

Big Sky made a big return from its hiatus Tuesday, offering up two back-to-back episodes that introduced us to a whole bunch of new faces — a lot of ’em perhaps not on the up-and-up. And Ronald is still on the lam, three months after the events of the previous episode. So let’s not waste any more time: Here’s what went down in “Catastrophic Thinking” and “All Kinds of Snakes.”

The Skills That Pay The Bills | In the time since Legarski died and Ronald got away, Cassie and Jenny have been working mostly domestic cases — cheating husbands and the like.

Don’t pick up the phone, Jerrie!

Because when you do — in Tuesday’s supersized Big Sky return (ABC, 9/8c) — we guarantee you’re not going to like who’s on the other end.

More from TVLineBachelor Alum Colton Underwood Comes Out as Gay on GMA: 'I Ran From Myself for a Long Time' (Watch)Big Sky Recap: A New Case, an Old Boyfriend and Ronald in a WigAmerican Idol Recap: Top 12 Revealed! Plus, Who Dropped Out? And What Did Paula Abdul Say About Simon Cowell?

The two-hour midseason premiere is set three months after Ronald’s escape, and...

Nick Pepper is joining Amazon Studios as head of studio creative content, where he will be tasked with packaging and maximizing the studio’s intellectual property and talent deals.

The hiring follows a restructuring of Amazon Studio’s executive leadership team last month, which included Marc Resteghini’s elevation to head of development and the addition of Laura Lancaster as head of series. In overseeing the studio creative content team, Pepper will work with creators and producers to discover ideas and IP, and package them with talent for the development division.

Pepper, who will report to Amazon’s co-heads of television Vernon Sanders and Albert Cheng, was most recently the president of Legendary Television and Digital Studios, leading its development of scripted content across TV, digital and emerging platforms. During his time there, Pepper worked on the Amazon Prime Video series “Carnival Row” and its upcoming projects “Light Years” and “Paper Girls.

Former Legendary Television President Nick Pepper is joining Amazon Studios.

Pepper, who exited the Carnival Row producer last month after Chris Albrecht took over the company’s entire TV operation, becomes Head of Studio Creative Content.

The hire marks the final step of Amazon Studios’ recent restructure, which, in February, saw Head of Drama Marc Resteghini promoted to US/Global Head of Development and former NBC Head of Drama and Alcon TV President Laura Lancaster hired as Head of Series.

The streamer said at the time that it was looking for a third piece of the puzzle to oversee big franchise properties and overall deals and Pepper will now fill this position.

Pepper, like Resteghini and Lancaster, will report to Amazon Studios co-heads of TV Vernon Sanders and Albert Cheng, who also is COO.

He will work with its creators and producers to find ideas and IP, package them with...

Amazon Studios is bringing in Nick Pepper as head of studio creative content, where he’ll oversee IP and talent management.

Last month, Amazon said it would refocus its TV development around three areas: development, series and IP/talent management. Marc Resteghini and Laura Lancaster serve as the heads of development and series, respectively.

Pepper’s team will be tasked with acquiring and managing the studio’s IP — its largest being the rights to “Lord of the Rings” — and talent deals (such as overall and first-look pacts). The Studio Creative Content Team will work with creators and producers to find original ideas and IP, package them with talent and deliver those projects to the Prime Video and IMDb TV development teams.

Pepper will report into TV Co-Heads Vernon Sanders and Albert Cheng.

This department will include two Creative Content executives, Amanda Greenblatt and Steve Prinz, who manage first look & overall deals,...

The National announced a new photo book, Light Years, available through their fan club.

The release — which features newly published images, essays and band member quotes — chronicles the band’s two-decade relationship with Scottish photographer Graham MacIndoe.

Six versions of Light Years are available to preorder via the Cherry Tree shop, and some will be paired with a vinyl LP of songs curated by MacIndoe and bassist Scott Devendorf, highlighting the band’s September 2018 shows at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium. (As of this writing, three editions are already sold out.

Ukrainian filmmaker’s third feature was postponed due to five years imprisonment.

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is to showcase footage from upcoming feature Rhino at Bulgaria’s Sofia Meetings, which is taking place virtually from March 17-24.

It marks the third feature from Sentsov and was originally pitched at the industry platform in 2012, before being abandoned when the filmmaker was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service in May 2014 and later sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Sentsov resurrected the project after being released from prison as part of a prisoner exchange in September 2019.

Set in 1990s Ukraine, the drama centres on...

No amount of talking points could prepare Shaun for dinner with Lea’s parents on Monday’s episode of The Good Doctor. No, that “predictable disaster” went exactly as Lea had feared.

For starters, Lea’s mom Pam (Nip/Tuck‘s Julie Warner) essentially asked Shaun if being autistic makes his job more difficult. And because that wasn’t awful enough, her dad, Mike (Riverdale‘s Barclay Hope), went and asked Shaun for his opinion on vaccines — even though there’s no link between autism and vaccines. To alleviate the tension, Dr. Murphy interjected with an anecdote about a terminal...

Wild Mountain Thyme

In the green Irish hills, Emily Blunt plays a farmer, Rosemary Muldoon, hopelessly in love with her neighbor Anthony Reilly (Jamie Dornan). For his part, Anthony is pretty oblivious to her feelings. Besides, he’s preoccupied with the fact that his father is bypassing him to sell their farm to an American nephew (Jon Hamm). Hamm doesn’t share his cousin’s blind spot when it comes to Rosemary. He takes her on a trip to New York City. Over dinner, she tells him about a long-held dream,...

Gravitas Ventures has released the first trailer for Light Years, the coming-of-age comedy with Andrew Lauren and DJ Gugenheim at Andrew Lauren Productions and Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin’s Free Association producing and Colin Thompson directing.

The film follows a thirtysomething man as he embarks on a cosmic vision quest. Thompson stars in the pic alongside Christopher Gray, Jennifer Lafleur, Makenzie Leigh, Russell Posner and Libby Winters.

The story of how the film came together has its own, overcoming-the-odds feel to it as Thompson did everything from overcoming hurdles in post-production due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to having to play a number of characters to cover the actors not able to partake in filming, and to the script eventually finding its way into the hands of Free Association.

In these trying times when even the most sure-thing tentpoles are up in the air of where and when they end...

The news that Lucrecia Martel was working on a new feature film — less than three years after premiering 2017’s “Zama” — was excitedly received by world cinema buffs: nine long years had separated “Zama” and her previous feature, “The Headless Woman,” and admirers of the enigmatic Argentine auteur had no reason to expect a suddenly increased work rate.

“Zama,” after all, was a film that reflected its lengthy gestation and repeated delays in its hypnotic style. A scathing post-colonial portrait of a Spanish magistrate in a remote South American colony, spiraling into madness as he awaits a reassignment that never seems to come, the film’s feverish, intoxicated atmospherics bespoke a filmmaker fully immersed and entangled in her own creative process: the type of cinema Lucrecia Martel makes is not conceived, much less made, overnight.

Perhaps, then, Marcel will take the pandemic-induced limbo in which the film industry finds itself more in her stride than most.

Liz Tigelaar’s “Little Fires Everywhere” writers’ room was on the Paramount lot, a central point between herself and many of her Eastside writers. But when the show wrapped, she wanted to move her space closer to home in Venice Beach. Her new location, into which she moved in January, is now only blocks from the beach, as well as her son’s school. The second-floor space includes a balcony where she, her writers and her dog Frites can collaborate. “I’ve been all over for so many years of my career, but now I just feel like I get to work at home,” she says.

Artist of Another Kind

Tigelaar doesn’t just write and produce, she also likes to paint, and back in 2005 she was starting to play with texture and using different materials in her pieces. That was also when “American Dreams,” a period drama on which she was a writer,...

Kristoffer Polaha has entered into a deal with Rosewind Books to co-author a series of romance novels, Variety has learned exclusively.

The first in the series, entitled “Moments Like This,” is set in Hawaii and centers on a young woman looking to find herself after losing both her career and her relationship. It will be published February 2, 2021 through Rosewind, which is a devision of Vesuvian Media Group, Inc. Polaha is writing this series with Anna Gomez, who has previously published under the pen name Christine Brae. The release dates for the subsequent books will be announced at a later date.

“It’s a rare thing, when someone comes along who understands your words and the purpose of your work. Together, my passion for storytelling and Kristoffer’s vision to bring these characters to life, makes this such a great partnership. For this, I am extremely grateful,” said Gomez in a statement.

ID Networks Nine at Nine continues this week, culminating with a Joe Exotic related piece.

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story premieres on USA Network starring Amanda Peet and Christian Slater, and 13 Reasons Why premieres on Netflix on Friday.

Something extra fun for fans of the canceled too soon gem Life Unexpected. There is a virtual table read via the Atx festival. All of the details of these shows and more can be found below!

Saturday, May 30

9/8c ID Investigated: My Father Btk (ID)

Kerri Rawson had an idyllic life growing up in Wichita, Kansas, with her father, mother, and brother. During her childhood, a serial killer going by the name “Btk” was terrorizing the Wichita community.

The moniker came from the way the killer would murder his victims. He broke into their homes where he would bind, torture and kill his victims. Kerri remembers her father assuring her that...

Westmonte High Class of 2012, it’s time for your reunion.

Atx Television Festival is bringing the cast and creative team of “Life Unexpected” back together for a virtual script reading and panel, Variety has learned exclusively.

The live event, which Variety will also moderate, will reunite creator and showrunner Liz Tigelaar with cast members Britt Robertson, Shiri Appleby, Kristoffer Polaha, Kerr Smith, Austin Basis, Reggie Austin, Erin Karpluk, Cynthia Stevenson and Ksenia Solo, as well as producer Mary Beth Basile and executive producer/director Gary Fleder.

It all begins Sunday, May 31 at 8 p.m. Et / 5 p.m. Pt on Atx Television Festival’s YouTube page to benefit Off Their Plate, a volunteer-led organization has expanded into nine cities and provides economic support to restaurant workers while also delivering free meals to folks on the frontlines of fighting the pandemic. Tigelaar will start the show by chatting about “Life Unexpected’s” legacy,...

Amazon Prime Video has boarded drama series Little Fires Everywhere, starring and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, and will launch the show in international markets including Europe, Latin America, Canada, and Australia.

Based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 bestseller, Little Fires Everywhere follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

The series is produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Kerry Washington’s Simpson Street and ABC Signature Studios, a part of Disney Television Studios. Liz Tigelaar (Life Unexpected, Casual) is creator, showrunner and executive producer. Disney Television Studios is handling international rights and struck the deal with Amazon.

Hulu premiered the show in the U.S. in March. Amazon has all territories excluding the U.S., India, Middle East, Africa, Russia and China.

In a joint statement, Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington said, “We, at Hello Sunshine and Simpson Street,...

Amazon Prime Video has taken the exclusive rights to drama series “Little Fires Everywhere,” executive produced and starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, in Europe, Latin America, Canada and Australia, where it will launch on May 22.

Based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 bestseller, “Little Fires Everywhere” follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. The story “explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster,” according to a statement from Amazon Prime Video.

As well as Witherspoon and Washington, the cast includes Joshua Jackson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jade Pettyjohn, Jordan Elsass and Gavin Lewis.

The series is produced by Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Washington’s Simpson Street, and ABC Signature Studios, a part of Disney Television Studios. Liz Tigelaar is creator, showrunner and executive producer.

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched the first three episodes of “Little Fires Everywhere,” streaming now on Hulu.

The first television show Liz Tigelaar ran was one she created, but five years later she was entering into the world of adaptations and found herself both newly challenged and equally passionate.

“I love adapting a world that I never would have thought in my own mind to create,” Tigelaar tells Variety. “And I just love having these puzzle pieces — whether they’re true life facts or they’re facts laid out by the author in a work of fiction. It’s like the ‘Beautiful Mind’ aspect of putting things up and moving them around and making them flow.”

Now, another five years later, Tigelaar has adaptations based on Eve Babitz’ writing and Judy Blume’s “Summer Sisters” in the works, while “Little Fires Everywhere,” based on...

Exclusive: Showrunner Lara Olsen has signed with Apa. Olsen served as showrunner on Netflix’s drama Spinning Out, starring Kaya Scodelario and January Jones as a daughter and mother struggling with the pressures of competitive figure skating and mental illness.

Olsen got her start writing for many years in half-hour comedy before transitioning into one-hour television. Her first show-running job was on 90210, helming the show for its final two seasons. From there, she pursued development opportunities and served as co-showrunner on CW’s Reign for its final season.

More recently, Olsen served as showrunner on the Netflix series Free Rein, and as co-executive producer on the CBS swashbuckling adventure Blood & Treasure. Her background includes work on Mixology, Life Unexpected, and Shondaland’s Private Practice, among other series.

With her former writing partner, Olsen also wrote and produced the CBS pilot NY-lon, based on the original series which aired on U.

The roof — and also, the entire house — is on fire.

Hulu released the official full-length trailer for its upcoming eight-episode limited series, “Little Fires Everywhere.” And as said trailer suggests, you oughta know that the little fires aren’t just the ones that set a family’s home ablaze: Sometimes they’re also the friends we made along the way. Based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 bestseller of the same name, “Little Fires Everywhere” stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington as the respective matriarchs of the picture-perfect Richardson and enigmatic Warren families.

The trailer opens with the image of the Richardson’s Shaker Heights family home destroyed by the literal fire, with Elena (Witherspoon) voiceovering about how she “always had the best intentions” and being asked if she knows anyone who would do this. What follows is a look back at the events leading up to the fire, with Elena renting...

Hulu has released the latest trailer for Little Fires Everywhere, the streaming platform’s highly anticipated adaptation of Celeste Ng’s 2017 novel of the same name. The series stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

Witherspoon plays Elena, the matriarch of the wealthy Richardson family, who decides to rent out a room in her house to a homeless artist named Mia (Washington) and her daughter, Pearl (Lexi Underwood).

“So you decided to rent it out to her on the spot?” Elena’s husband, Bill (Joshua Jackson), asks her over dinner. “Do...

Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” really leaned into the whole burning theme on Thursday with a trailer that showcases more than one flame — both literal and metaphorical — being ignited by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington’s respective characters, mothers who hold secrets about their very different families.

In the video, which you can view above, Elena Richardson (Witherspoon) and Mia Warren (Washington) meet when the latter rents an apartment owned by the former. The differences between Elena’s white, upper-middle class, 4-child nuclear family and Mia’s more modest life with her only daughter are set up immediately and soon the two are at odds over the personal details they choose to keep hidden from one another.

All of this tension builds until the Richardson family home is burned down — and no one knows who is responsible for setting it ablaze.

Also Read: Hulu in March: Here's Everything Coming...

When Liz Tigelaar signed on as showrunner for Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere,” she knew it was going to be her toughest, most rewarding experience to date.

“It was transformative,” Tigelaar says of the work she did on the series. “To be honest, it’s the first show that I felt as deeply connected to.” That isn’t to denigrate her past credits, which include “The Morning Show,” “Casual” and “Life Unexpected.” The prolific writer and producer speaks fondly about many of her experiences as necessary steppingstones to where she is now, having recently signed an overall deal with ABC Studios and launched a production company.

But “Little Fires Everywhere” — an adaptation of Celeste Ng’s novel about divergent families in suburban Ohio struggling to understand each other, starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon as the conflicted matriarchs — combines an almost spooky amount of Tigelaar’s preexisting interests and experiences.