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Netflix has decided not to return to Mount Olympus, canceling its series Kaos after a single season.

The decision comes about six weeks after the dark comedy, based on Greek and Roman mythology and created by Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World), made its debut on the streamer. Kaos appeared in Netflix’s top 10 charts for English-language series in each of its first four weeks, topping out at No. 3 for the week of Sept. 2-8. It earned 14.9 million views (measured by total viewing time divided by running time) over those weeks, a middling number by the streamer’s standards.

In the United States, the show had 3.34 million views as of Sept. 8, according to Nielsen’s streaming ratings (viewing totals for subsequent weeks aren’t yet available).

Kaos puts Greek and Roman mythology in a present-day setting. The series stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus, who has chained fellow god...

Exclusive: Universal International Studios (Uis) head Roma Khanna is exiting after just six months in post.

Details are scarce as to why Khanna is leaving the London role but we are told she will remain for a period of time to work across a number of Uis projects. Beyond confirming her departure, Uis declined comment.

Khanna, a U.S. production vet who used to run Sean ‘Diddy Combs’ company and was previously living in LA, replaced David Donoghue late last year when Donoghue moved to 42. No word from Uis at present on whether Khanna will be directly replaced or the role will be culled.

Khanna reported to Uis President Beatrice Springborn. At the time of her arrival, Universal Studio Group chair Pearlena Igbokwe said Khanna’s “operational expertise in the global marketplace, coupled with Beatrice’s deft creative strategy, will fuel our ambitions and expand our footprint exponentially.”

She made...

Sony Pictures Television (Spt) is maintaining its focus on British TV drama with another big acquisition deal.

The studio has upped its minority shareholding in Alex Rider producer Eleventh Hour Films to a majority stake. Sony had first invested in the British indie in 2018.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Eleventh Hour will sit alongside fellow UK drama producers Left Bank, Bad Wolf and Eleven in the Spt stable. Along with the shareholder changes, company founder Jill Green will move from her CEO role to become a creative executive producer. She will remain chair, and Eve Gutierrez and Paula Cuddy will become co-CEOs.

According to documents on Companies House, before today’s transaction Spt controlled 22.7% of the shares, with Green owning 43.2%, Gutierrez 14.4%, Cuddy 5.3% and Eleventh Hour Films as an entity the remaining 14.3%. It’s not immediately clear how much Sony will own under the new structure. The studio...

With the company eliminating his position as Senior EVP of Programming, where he had overseen daytime dramas “Days of our Lives” and “The Young and the Restless” since 2007, veteran Sony Pictures Television executive Steve Kent will be transitioning to become executive in charge of production at “The Young and the Restless.”

According to Deadline, which first reported Kent’s new role, other members of the Sony production team will take over his former responsibilities going forward. In related news, the outlet also reported that another Sony executive, Nina Lederman, would be exiting the company amid a production slowdown impacting Hollywood following last year’s monthslong dual strikes. Lederman, who joined Sony as the head of global scripted development and programming in 2018, will exit the company next month.

News of Kent’s exit was first reported last month by Soap Opera Digest, who at the time noted Kent’s last day...

Exclusive: Veteran Sony Pictures Television (Spt) executive Steve Kent is leaving his role to focus solely on The Young and the Restless.

Deadline has confirmed that Kent will no longer be Senior EVP of Programming but will become executive in charge of production on CBS’ 50-year-old daytime soap.

He has been overseeing daytime dramas The Young And The Restless and Days of Our Lives since 2007, along with being in charge of development and production of original local language productions such as Outlander, Nikola and As If as well as scripted and unscripted formats like Dragons’ Den.

Spt’s Senior EVP Programming role is being eliminated and Kent’s responsibilities will be covered by other members of the Spt production team going forward, we are told. He is the second senior exec we have revealed to be leaving their role in the past week. Global scripted boss Nina Lederman is exiting...

Exclusive: Nina Lederman, Sony Pictures Television’s global scripted boss, is exiting amid the slowdown.

Veteran TV exec Lederman is leaving in June after six years heading up global scripted development and programing for Spt, with the group understood to be pivoting focus to the core businesses of local international production.

Based in LA, Lederman joined Spt in 2018 to head the global scripted team, working closely with indies in the UK and Australia such as The Crown producer Left Bank, His Dark Materials maker Bad Wolf and Artful Dodger indie Curio Media. As EVP, Global Scripted Development, she worked on development, U.S. pre-sales and international co-productions, with credits including Netflix hit My Life with the Walter Boys and MGM+’s Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue.

Lederman will leave in June. Her role is being eliminated and responsibilities being reallocated within the group, we understand, and no others are leaving.

Slovakian political drama Our People has won the €50,000 Series Mania Forum best project sward.

Our People was one of 15 projects pitched at the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions on the first day of the Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania Festival.

The six-part drama focuses on the murder of a journalist which overthrows the balance of power in Slovakia. It is produced by Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý for nutprodukcia and is written by Tereza Nvotová and Miro Sifra and directed by Tereza Nvotová.

It was selected by a jury led by Nina Lederman, evp global scripted development & programming, Sony Pictures Television.

Slovakian drama series Our People has won the Series Mania Co-Pro Pitch and taken home a €50,000 development prize.

The pitch beat out competition from 14 other titles to win the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award following a day of pitching against projects from the likes of Japan, France, Germany and Eastern Europe.

The pitching team — Jakub Viktorín, Tomáš Hrubý and Miro Sifra — drew an impromptu round of applause from the audience following their presentation, which intrigued the audience by describing their eureka moment while researching the crime drama story, saying, it “Felt like the world of Fargo.”

The six-part political drama series, from Nutprodukcia, is based on the grim true-life tale about the killing of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, in 2018. “These are stupid criminals. They were getting advice [to commit murder] from fortune tellers,” said Hrubý.

Kuciak has been investigating tax fraud among top Slovakian criminals and several people...

An explosive political drama retracing the 2018 murders of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, “Our People” claimed the best project award at this year’s Series Mania Forum.

Winning €50,000 in prize money and earning an enhanced international stature, the unflinching miniseries should now see an easier path forward – particularly given the chilly reception it found with funding authorities in native Slovakia.

“We thought it impossible,” said director Tereza Nvotova as she claimed the Series Mania prize. “We thought it was dead, because the government in Slovakia really doesn’t want this story told. And we think this story is so important not just because of what is happening in Slovakia, and not just because Jan and Martina were murdered.”

“We just want to tell the truth,” Nvotova continued. “The world is turning very dark, and I think we all can feel it. We are all scared and...

Our People, a political drama series from Slovakia, has won the prize for best pitch at the 2024 Series Mania television festival.

The series explores the true story of the 2018 assassination of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, at their home. Prior to his death, Kuicak had exposed corruption at the highest level of national politics, drawing connections between political leaders, mafia bosses and corrupt businessmen. The twin murders shocked the country and triggered a political crisis, eventually leading to the collapse of the Slovak government.

Tereza Nvotová and Miro Sifra co-wrote Our People, with Nvotová directing and Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý producing for nutprodukcia. Nvotová said she drew inspiration from the work of Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short) to combine humor with the dark subject matter of the series, which is based on more than 50,000 pages of case files.

A jury, headed by Nina Lederman,...

Charlie Covell might be known for the successful adaptation of the comic series The End of the F***ing World, but the British writer is currently working on a new show for Netflix, which is going to be released later this year. Kaos is an original work by Covell that is going to be a fantastic, mythology-inspired black comedy that will follow the adventures of Ancient Greek gods in a modern setting. Ahead of this year’s premiere – a release window has not been specified, as of the time of writing – Netflix has released the first trailer for the series as well.

Kaos is going to have eight episodes, as has been confirmed by the streaming service, and will see legendary actor Jeff Goldblum as the ruler of the Greek pantheon, Zeus; Goldblum replaced Hugh Grant, who was initially attached to the role. You can check out what Goldblum looks like...

Drama series set in the worlds of Eurovision and the Vatican are among the selected projects for Series Mania’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions next month.

Among the 16 titles are European six-parter Eurovision Murder Mystery, which is from France’s Apc Stories and Germany’s Friday Film. Plot details were thin, but synopsis reads: “When you have 72 hours to solve a murder, save Eurovision and the fate of Europe. Fabienne Hurst and Bertrand Soulier are writing.

Vatican, from Italy’s Fabula Pictures, follows a father investigating the suspicious death of his only son. he discovers his child was involved in a prostitution ring inside the church used by unscrupulous bishops to control the Vatican policy. Flavio Bernard, Ciro Di Maso and Marcello Olivieri are attached to write.

Fifteen of the 16 Series Mania titles were previously unannounced for the event, which takes place on March 19 as part of the Series Mania Forum.

Mary Waireri’s series “Exiles” has been selected for development via EbonyLife Media and Sony Pictures Television’s Alo, an initiative offering a platform for writers of African heritage.

Nairobi-born, London-bred screenwriter Waireri’s script follows a Kenyan-born British doctor returns to the country she fled as a young girl to find her twin brother who goes missing while investigating a government cover-up. Soon, she finds herself drawn into a dark conspiracy.

Waireri originally wrote “Exiles” as a feature-length project while completing the screenwriting certificate at the U.K.’s National Film and Television School. The screenplay won the FilmarketHub 2020 screenwriting competition and was shortlisted for the 2020 BBC Scriptworks and Thousand Films screenwriting competition.

The writer is an alumna of the inaugural Realness Institute and Netflix Africa Episodic Lab, where she developed a Swahili folk horror concept and has also worked on treatment commissions for Studiocanal U.K. She was...

Exclusive: Timewasters creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor has boarded Netflix Greek mythology reimagining Kaos.

News of the British actor-creator’s casting comes a few days after Deadline revealed Entourage star Debi Mazar will play Medusa. Lawrence Taylor is playing Theseus, it is understood.

Jeff Goldblum is playing Zeus, having replaced Hugh Grant, and others starring include Janet McTeer, David Thewlis, Aurora Perrineau as lead, Cliff Curtis, Killian Scott, Misia Butler, Leila Farzad, Nabhaan Rizwan, Rakie Ayola and Stanley Townsend.

Lawrence Taylor is a highly-rated British creative who was BAFTA nominated for Timewasters, the ITV2 sci-fi comedy that he also starred in from Outlaws indie Big Talk Productions, which followed an unsuccessful all-black South London jazz quartet who time-travel to the 1920s, and later the 1950s.

He is currently writing BBC Three’s Boarders, a drama following five underprivileged Black students who win scholarships to an elite British boarding school.

Kaos, from Chernobyl producer Sister and Anthem,...

Exclusive: Netflix’s Kaos has its Medusa.

Entourage star Debi Mazar will play the coveted role in the upcoming mythological series from End of the F***ing World creator Charlie Covell, joining an ensemble cast including Jeff Goldblum, Janet McTeer and David Thewlis. Goldblum will play Zeus, Deadline recently revealed, having replaced Hugh Grant due to schedule availabilities.

Other cast confirmed include Aurora Perrineau as lead, Cliff Curtis, Killian Scott, Misia Butler, Leila Farzad, Nabhaan Rizwan, Rakie Ayola and Stanley Townsend.

The show from Chernobyl producer Sister and Anthem is currently filming in Spain and is described as a “bold, darkly comic, contemporary take on Greek mythology, exploring love, life and power in the underworld.” It was first revealed in 2018 and officially greenlit by the UK team last year.

Mazar, who broke out in Goodfellas, Little Man Tate and Singles, is currently starring in Netflix’s The Pentaverate as Patty Davis,...

Jeff Goldblum, fresh off his return as Dr. Ian Malcolm in “Jurassic World Dominion,” will replace Hugh Grant as Zeus in Netflix’s series reimagining of Greek mythology,”Kaos,” TheWrap has confirmed.

Grant was forced to pull out of the series, which hails from writer and creator Charlie Covell (“The End of the F***ing World”), due to a scheduling conflict. Goldblum now slots into a cast that already includes Janet McTeer, Cliff Curtis, David Thewlis, Killian Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Misia Butler, Leila Farzad, Nabhaan Rizwan, Rakie Ayola and Stanley Townsend.

The eight-episode contemporary take, which was initially announced back in 2018, is described by Netflix as a “genre-bending series” that puts a “modern twist on Greek and Roman mythology, exploring themes of gender politics, power and life in the underworld.” Production is set to begin later this summer.

Also Read:

Hugh Grant Leads Cast of Netflix’s Greek Mythology Reimagining ‘Kaos...

Exclusive: Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic World Dominion) has been tapped as one of the leads, vengeful god Zeus, in Netflix’s darkly comedic Greek mythology reimagining series Kaos, from creator-writer Charlie Covell. He replaces Hugh Grant, who originally had been cast in the role but had to pull out over date availability.

Goldblum joins Kaos‘ ensemble cast, which includes Janet McTeer, Cliff Curtis, David Thewlis, Killian Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Misia Butler, Leila Farzad, Nabhaan Rizwan, Rakie Ayola and Stanley Townsend. Filming is slated to begin later this summer.

Kaos is billed as a bold, darkly comic contemporary take on Greek mythology, exploring love, power and life in the underworld. Nothing is sacred in Covell’s bold reinvention of Greek myths (think tracksuits not togas), except the treachery and arrogance of a bunch of inconstant gods and their cosmic machinations…Some things never change.

Goldblum will play the seemingly all-powerful, yet desperately insecure and vengeful Zeus,...

Exclusive: Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Janet McTeer (Ozark), Cliff Curtis (Avatar: The Way of Water), David Thewlis (Fargo), Killian Scott (Dublin Murders), Misia Butler (The School for Good and Evil), Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie), Nabhaan Rizwan (Station Eleven), Rakie Ayola (The Pact) and Stanley Townsend (The Current War) have signed on for series regular roles alongside Aurora Perrineau in Charlie Covell’s mythological epic Kaos for Netflix, which will go into production later this summer.

The series is billed as a bold, darkly comic, contemporary take on Greek mythology, exploring love, power and life in the underworld. Nothing is sacred in Covell’s bold reinvention of Greek myths (think tracksuits not togas), except the treachery and arrogance of a bunch of inconstant gods and their cosmic machinations…Some things never change. Grant is set to portray the seemingly all-powerful, yet desperately insecure and vengeful Zeus, who has long enjoyed...

NBC has put in development comedy Step Dave, from Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner’s Hazy Mills, All3Media America and Universal TV where Hazy Mills is based. This marks one of the first major broadcast sales for All3Media America, part of the company’s push into original scripted programming launched with the hire last year of Nina Lederman as Evp of scripted. Written and executive produced by Emily Cutler (The Odd Couple, Community), Step Dave, based on a New Zealand…...

Sharon Bordas has joined Lifetime as VP, Scripted Development. Based in Los Angeles, Bordas will develop and oversee production of scripted series for Lifetime, reporting to Liz Gateley, Lifetime's Evp and Head of Programming. Bordas, who comes from production company MarVista Entertainment, will bolster Lifetime’s scripted series ranks. The network is still looking for a replacement of Svp Nina Lederman, who left last September. Bordas had served as Evp, Production and…...

All3Media America is signaling a push in the original scripted arena with the appointment of former Lifetime executive Nina Lederman as Evp of Scripted Programming, the company’s first dedicated senior scripted executive. In the newly created role, Lederman will work with all the scripted businesses in the All3Media Group to expand the company's scripted business in the U.S. She will report to All3Media America CEO Greg Lipstone, marking one of the first major executive…...

Lifetime development executive Nina Lederman will exit the network, an individual with knowledge of the move told TheWrap. Lederman, senior vice president of scripted development, joined Lifetime in 2008 and oversaw the development of some of its most popular series, including this summer’s breakout hit “UnReal.” In her time at the female-centric network, Lederman also oversaw the creation of such hit shows as “Army Wives” and “Drop Dead Divas.” The move comes just months after reality TV veteran Liz Gately was named executive vice president and head of programming. Her position fills the void created when general manager and Evp...

Exclusive: Eureka star Salli Richardson-Whitfield is set as a lead of another cable drama project. Richardson will star in Lifetime’s hourlong pilot The Secret Lives Of Wives (working title). She is the first actor cast in the project, which explores the unvarnished truth behind the marriages of four different women, providing an honest portrayal of the ultimate challenge every relationship faces – emotional and sexual longevity. Richardson-Whitfield will play one of the four women, Reed. Professionally known as “The Siren”, Reed is the sultry host of a call-in radio show that caters to women’s fantasies. But her radio persona is at sad odds with her personal life, as her marriage of 17 years is on the rocks. Richardson was offered both The Secret Lives Of Wives, from Lin Pictures and Warner Horizon, and the NBC similarly-themed and titled off-cycle pilot The Secret Lives Of Husbands And Wives. I hear Richardson-Whitfield...

Sherri Saum lands lead in ABC drama pilot Grace

A dysfunctional family drama set in the world of professional dance, the show centers on Michael Grace (Eric Roberts), a famous choreographer who tends to sleep with his dancers and has three daughters with different mothers. He is in danger of losing his studio until his daughter Sarah (Abigail Spencer), a dancer-turned-lawyer, decides to buy her father's studio and run it for him. Saum will play Grace's second daughter, a beautiful, bright Bohemian artist. She's Sarah's half-sister and best friend.

Top Lifetime Programming Executive Leaving

"For the time being, Lifetime president and general manger Nancy Dubuc will oversee the network's development, with Svp series programming Nina Lederman and Svp original movies Tanya Lopez reporting to her."

Y&R's Judith Chapman bumped to recurring

But the actress isn't going anywhere. Insiders are saying that the fan favorite will continue to appear...

Exclusive: Lifetime's head of development, Evp entertainment JoAnn Alfano, is leaving the female-centered cable network effective immediately. For the time being, Lifetime president and general manger Nancy Dubuc will oversee the network's development, with Svp series programming Nina Lederman and Svp original movies Tanya Lopez reporting to her. Alfano, former head of Lorne Michaels' production company Broadway Video and head of comedy at NBC, joined Lifetime in the fall of 2008, succeeding entertainment president Susanne Daniels. Alfano said that she made the decision to leave right after the recent merger of Lifetime and A&E Networks, which put Lifetime under the purview of History president and Gm Dubuc. "I wanted to stay on through the first year to help shepherd some great projects through the development process," she said. "Now that those projects are into production and under way, I feel it is the right time for me to move on.

Nina Lederman, most recently president of Joe Roth Television, has been named senior vp series programming and development at Lifetime Networks, overseeing the development of all scripted fare.

Lederman had been president of Roth's company since 2005. She is one of the executive producers of "Maid in Manhattan," a one-hour put pilot at ABC from Sony Pictures TV and Joe Roth TV that is based on the movie of the same name.

Before joining Roth's company, Lederman had been Tony Krantz's producing partner at Flame Television, where she had a hand in such series as Upn's "South Beach" and "The Bad Girl's Guide," starring Jenny McCarthy.

She also held positions at Michael Ovitz's Artists Television Group and NBC Studios, playing a role in the development of such series as "Will & Grace," "Access Hollywood," "Grosse Point," "The Street" and "The Ellen Show."

At Lifetime, Lederman will be based in Los Angeles,...

ABC is bringing the Jennifer Lopez starrer "Maid in Manhattan" to the small screen.

The network is in negotiations for a series adaptation of the 2002 romantic comedy to be penned by Chad Hodge and executive produced by Lopez, Joe Roth and the film's producer, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas.

The hourlong dramedy, which is getting a put pilot commitment, is not a remake of the hit feature, which centered on Marisa Ventura (Lopez), a struggling single mother from the Bronx who works as a maid at a swanky Manhattan hotel, where a rising politician guest (Ralph Fiennes) falls for her after mistaking her for a wealthy socialite.

"The show is a different maid in a different Manhattan," Hodge said.

The lead in the TV version will still be a young Latina from the Bronx working at a Manhattan hotel who tries to make it in the world. But the series will focus mostly on her relationships with co-workers.

"While the hotel's clientele is an obvious part of this world, I'm more interested in the downstairs part of 'Upstairs, Downstairs,' " Hodge said, referring to the classic British series.

Hodge was approached with the idea of adapting "Maid" by Roth, whose company Revolution Studios produced the feature, and Nina Lederman, president of Roth's current company Joe Roth Television.

Hodge, who had written a couple of ABC Family romantic comedies, immediately connected with the idea.

"I imagine being a writer in Hollywood is often very similar to being a maid in Manhattan," he said.

Lopez, a Bronx native, has been very involved, providing "a fountain of ideas," Hodge said. "She will be very integral in the pilot and series," he said.

In addition to Hodge, Lopez, Roth and Goldsmith-Thomas, Lederman and Lopez's producing partner Simon Fields also will serve as executive producers on the project.

This is the second time that ABC and Roth are taking a stab at a series adaptation of "Maid," which grossed $93.8 million at the domestic box office. They developed a script with a different writer during the 2004-05 development season.

On ABC, "Maid" could be a suitable companion for the network's dramedy "Ugly Betty," which also centers on a hardworking young Latina in New York with big dreams.

Series based on features are hot at ABC this summer. The network also is developing a new take on the 1987 hit "The Witches of Eastwick."

"Maid" is the second high-profile project for Hodge in the past few weeks following the sale of a Studio 54-themed drama for Showtime that Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are executive producing and Bryan Singer is potentially directing.

"Maid" was packaged by Wma, which reps all parties involved.

Legal reps include Michael Fuller for Hodge, Bob Wallerstein for Lopez, Sam Fischer for Roth and Ryan Nord for Goldsmith-Thomas.