News

Three series produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, had No. 1 premieres this week across three different external platforms: “We Were Liars” debuted on Prime Video on June 18; “The Waterfront” dropped on Netflix on June 19; and Season 3 of “The Gilded Age” began on June 22 on HBO.

“The Waterfront,” created by Kevin Williamson, became one of only four new dramas this year to top Netflix’s global Top 10, earning 53.3 million hours viewed in its first week. Meanwhile, “The Gilded Age” landed on the top 10 Max list within 24 hours of its premiere; the episode drew 2.7 million U.S. cross-platform viewers within its first three days of availability.

“We Were Liars” is based on E. Lockhart’s bestselling novel and showrun by Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie. During a recent interview with Variety, the team shared that they’re hopeful for a second season, but also planned an ending...

The BBC and Working Title are developing an adaptation of Em Forster’s epic period piece A Passage to India.

Working Title exec Surian Fletcher-Jones has just revealed the news about the new five-part series on an SXSW London panel. We understand Nisha Parti is also producing and her Parti Productions is a co-production partner.

Fletcher-Jones said the team are collaborating on the adaptation with Canadian film director and writer Richie Mehta.

The Forster novel just turned 100. Set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s, it revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested.

A Passage to India was most recently adapted by David Lean in 1984 for a movie starring Peggy Ashcroft, Judy Davis, James Fox, Alec Guinness, Nigel Havers and Victor Banerjee.

Fletcher-Jones said the adaptation will “reclaim colonial history” and...

Upcoming Sarah Snook-starring thriller series All Her Fault and Lena Dunham rom-com show Too Much, as well as a planned TV take on Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds got big shout-outs during SXSW London on Thursday.

They were in the spotlight as global hit series from various production labels under the Universal International Studios umbrella took center stage at the first-ever SXSW London.

“Global Stories: What makes compelling TV?” was the question discussed by Surian Fletcher-Jones, head of drama at Working Title Television; Sue Gibbs, head of development at Heyday Television, the joint venture of producer David Heyman and Universal International Studios; and Noemi Spanos, creative director at Carnival Films. Beatrice Springborn, president, Universal International Studios and Universal Content Productions (UCP), functioned as the moderator.

Confronted with a question about how TV industry cost reductions, other spending cutbacks and layoffs are affecting their work, the execs shared insight into the challenges but also opportunities.

NBC’s “Grosse Pointe Garden Society” will move from its Sunday timeslot to kick off primetime on Fridays.

The drama series will shift from its current timeslot on Sundays 10 p.m. to air at on Fridays at 8 p.m. beginning Friday, April 4, the network announced Tuesday. “Dateline NBC” will take the 10 p.m. timeslot on Sunday.

“Grosse Pointe Garden Society” previously aired at the end of primetime on Sunday, following “The Americas,” which airs from 7-9 p.m. and airing directly after “Suits: LA” at 9 p.m. “Dateline NBC” will now follow “Suits: LA” at 10 p.m.

Now, “Grosse Pointe Garden Society” will kick off primetime on Fridays, filling up the spots left after “Lopez vs. Lopez” which ended its Season 3 run in February and “Happy’s Place” which finishes up its first installment later this week.

The premiere episode “Grosse Pointe Garden Society” has scored 6.6 million total viewers to date across platforms,...

Faced with the annual challenge of a Sunday lineup left bare by the end of football season, NBC’s ambitious 2025 plan to fill the night will replace the ratings juggernaut with three very different new shows: “Suits LA,” the anticipated spinoff to the cable darling turned streaming sensation; “Grosse Pointe Garden Society,” a murder-mystery dramedy with a “Desperate Housewives” flare; and “The Americas,” a nature docuseries narrated by Tom Hanks.

Rather than centering the Sunday-night lineup around one TV franchise or genre — like the “must-see TV” comedy lineup that housed hits like “Friends,” “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock” — NBCUniversal is betting that three diverse shows in one night will appeal to a broad audience both for the linear network and its sibling Peacock, which will stream the shows the day after premiere.

“What we’re doing with these three shows is ‘eventizing,’ making people sit up and pay attention,...

NBCUniversal is suiting up for action. The company has released the first trailer for the “Suits” spinoff “Suits LA,” led by Stephen Amell as Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York who has reinvented himself and is representing powerful clients in Los Angeles. The new series premieres on NBC on Feb. 23.

The official description of the pilot reads: “His firm is at a crisis point, and in order to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career. Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can’t help but mix their personal and professional lives. All of this is going on while events from years ago slowly unravel that led Ted to leave behind everything and everyone he loved.”

Other cast members include Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis, Troy Winbush,...

From AI to webtoons to advertising and distribution innovations, the discussions featured Jan. 8 at the annual Variety Entertainment Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas ran the gamut of hot topics driving the business of media and entertainment.

The daylong conference opened with a panel of top programming executives who weighed in on the big shifts in streaming content and the business focus of major networks and platforms.

Beatrice Springborn, president of NBCUniversal’s UCP and Universal International Studios, cited “the new normal” of commissioning and production volume following 2023’s actors and writers strikes and the wave of consolidation among media giants.

“There is an adjustment from the peak TV era where we’re not making hundreds and hundreds of shows. There’s more of a focus on what I’d say is Marquee TV,” she said. One welcome development she cited was the fact that networks and...

Peacock president Kelly Campbell is leaving NBCUniversal, Deadline has confirmed.

It comes three years after she joined the streamer from Hulu and six weeks after the Comcast-owned company unveiled plans to separate its cable networks into a new company in a major way, with new roles for Campbell’s boss Matt Strauss and content chief Donna Langley.

The departure is one of a number of changes expected to be caused by the corporate moves.

Campbell spent four years at Hulu, latterly as president, before moving to Peacock as president in October 2021. Prior to joining Hulu, she spent 12 years at Google in leadership and marketing roles across the Google Ads and Google Cloud businesses including a year in Google Japan building the Online Sales and Operations functions. She began her career in finance as an investment banking analyst at JPMorgan Chase.

At NBCU she reported to Strauss, who was previously Chairman,...

Exclusive: Aaron Korsh, who was signed into an overall deal by UCP following the success of his USA Network legal drama Suits, is getting back on the studio’s overall deal roster ahead of the premiere of his upcoming offshoot for NBC, Suits LA.

Under the new pact, Korsh will continue to serve as showrunner on Suits LA, which debuts Feb. 23, and will develop and produce original series for different platforms exclusively with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Created, written and executive produced by Korsh, Suits LA revolves around Ted Black (Stephen Amell), a former federal prosecutor from New York who has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles. His firm is at a crisis point, and to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career.

Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis, Bryan Greenberg, and Troy Winbush also star in the NBC series,...

“The Day of the Jackal” producer Gareth Neame has admitted he initially balked at making the Eddie Redmayne reboot, which was released last month, because he was such a fan of the 1973 movie starring Edward Fox.

The film is itself based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel. The new series, which also stars Lashana Lynch, began broadcasting on Sky in the U.K. and Peacock in the U.S. last month. It has already been renewed for a second season.

“It came up in a creative meeting before the pandemic, and I just immediately [said] ‘No, we’re not doing that. I love the movie, nope, we’re not,’” said Neame, who is CEO of Universal International Studios-owned Carnival Films, during a panel at TV industry confab Content London on Thursday. “And colleagues kept bringing it up as, you know, ‘We have the rights.’ And the [Universal Pictures] film group weren...

Carnival Films CEO Gareth Neame is lauding Downton Abbey as a landmark piece of British television.

The executive spoke at Content London on Thursday alongside a panel of Universal International Studio bosses Beatrice Springborn and Margaret Schatzel, as well as Nigel Marchant, managing director at Carnival Films, to discuss their latest major shows and the direction they’re heading in after NBCUniversal’s acquisition of the production company in 2008.

Neame, Springborn, Schatzel and Marchant spoke extensively about the success of Sky and Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal, the upcoming Colin Firth-led show Lockerbie and Sarah Snook’s All Her Fault.

But first, the four reflected on the example set by the English period drama Downton Abbey starring Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Dan Stevens.

“Several foreign buyers came up to me and said, ‘This show is amazing, and we have to have it,...

NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution has sold thriller “The Day of the Jackal,” starring Eddie Redmayne, to nearly 200 territories around the world. The show’s U.K. premiere was on Tuesday in London.

The series, a standout title during the L.A. Screenings in May, has subsequently been snapped up by buyers worldwide.

These sales exclude the U.S., where Peacock already held the rights, and U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, where Sky is the rightsholder.

Among the buyers are Foxtel’s Binge (streaming) and Showcase channel (linear) in Australia; Corus’ Showcase (linear) and StackTV (streaming) in Canada; Amazon Prime Video (streaming) in France; JioCinema (streaming) in India; Wowow (linear and streaming) in Japan; Tvnz (linear) and Tvnz+ (streaming) in New Zealand; Wavve (streaming) in South Korea; Showmax (streaming) and M-Net (linear) in Sub-Saharan Africa; Osn’s Osn+ (streaming) and Osn (linear) in UAE and Middle East and...

Exclusive: NBCUniversal Formats guru Ana Langenberg is exiting after seven years.

The former Endemol Shine Group exec has been SVP of the international formats division of the U.S. major since September 2017, working across sales for the likes of Top Chef, Suits, That’s My Jam and, most recently, Monk to Disney+ Hotstar in India.

Deadline understands Langenberg is leaving her SVP, Format Sales & Productions role at the end of the year to spend more time with her family and the role will be reviewed in the meantime.

Beatrice Springborn, President, Universal International Studios & UCP, said: “We want to thank Ana for her incredible hard work, achievements, and the many opportunities she has created for NBCUniversal Formats. Her leadership has been instrumental in expanding our formats business globally. We wish her every success in this next chapter.”

Langenberg added that it had “been such a pleasure working at NBCUniversal Formats and...

Exclusive: UCP is making changes to its current department.

Rebecca Franko has been promoted to EVP and Head of Current Series at the NBCUniversal-owned studio. Franko was previously SVP, Current Programming, having joined in 2022.

She will oversee day-to-day operations for the studio’s slate of programming and will also start supporting select projects from Universal International Studios and series streaming on Peacock.

She reports to Beatrice Springborn, President of UCP and Uis. Kenny Tsai, who joined UCP at the same time as Franko as SVP, Current Programming continues in that role.

Franko will work with UCP’s roster including Patrick Macmanus, Nick Antosca and Sue Naegle, and serving as a liaison between production and other departments.

UCP’s slate includes horror series Teacup, from exec producer James Wan and starring Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chaske Spencer, which launches on Peacock on October 10, as well as Suits L.A.

Universal International Studios boss Beatrice Springborn has said American buyers are open to more flexible deal-making amid the market contraction.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival in a global storytelling session, Springborn, who is also president of Universal Content Productions, said “we are able to pull some levers” in part because streamers are now willing to take rights in less territories. She used the example of reducing the window of time before the We are Lady Parts and Day of the Jackal maker can be returned the rights to a show via shorter holdback terms.

“There has been more free dealmaking in terms of rights especially as payments are getting lower,” said Springborn. “That also goes back to collaboration. We didn’t used to see a world in which SVoDs would only take one or two territories so we are able now to pull some levers.”

In this era of market contraction,...

Rumpus Signs Entertainment Boss

The producer of RuPaul-hosted CBS gameshow Lingo is heading to Late Night Lycett indie Rumpus, as the Stv Studios-backed outfit moves to its next phase. Adeel Amini is taking on the newly-created role of Head of Entertainment, several months after Rumpus founders Iain Wimbush and Emily Hudd exited, while Abby Kumar joins as Development Producer from Studio Ramsay. Amini will lead the development and production of Rumpus’ entertainment slate, working closely with acting MD Josephine Brassey. He joins from Objective Media Group, where he helped make versions of Lingo for ITV and CBS. He is also the founder of The TV Mindset, an industry collective dedicated to improving mental health and wellbeing. “I could not be more thrilled to join Rumpus as Head of Entertainment, which comes as the next exciting phase of my 16-year career in the genre,” he said. Brassey said Rumpus has...

NBC expands drama lineup with Suits: L.A. and Grosse Pointe Garden Society, expect intriguing new series. Four members of a garden club caught up in murder drama? Grosse Pointe Garden Society promises thrilling twists. Exciting cast additions and talented creators bring new life to these upcoming NBC shows.

NBC is adding to its drama lineup with two new series: Suits L.A., a spinoff of the recently revived legal drama Suits, and Grosse Pointe Garden Society, a show where suburban gardening takes a dark turn. Talks of Suits L.A. first surfaced last fall when Beatrice Springborn, President of Universal International Studios, referred to the project as "Suits L.A." during a speech at Content London. In February, NBC confirmed they had ordered a pilot episode for the spinoff. NBC set up a writer's room for Grosse Pointe Garden Society in February 2023.

Suits: L.A. will star Arrowverse actor Stephen Amell as Ted Black,...

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...

Exclusive: The second season of We Are Lady Parts has dropped to acclaim on both sides of the pond and now Nida Manzoor, its creator, writer and director is back at her laptop working up projects including an ‘alt Bond’ spy movie.

Manzoor speaks to Deadline soon after the season two launch of We Are Lady Parts, the punk comedy-drama, which has struck a chord with critics as well as viewers on Channel 4 in the UK and Peacock in the U.S.

Season two follows the titular punk band as they gain some recognition and navigate the choppy waters of the music business, meeting some of its sharks along the way. They also have to contend with competition from Gen-z upstart band, Second Wife.

The sophomore run sees each member of the band grappling with different issues, with comedic and dramatic consequences in equal measure: Amina (Anjana Vasan) moves...

The Banff World Media Festival has added more names to its lineup.

The event, which runs June 9 – 12 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada, has added executives including CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach.

Reisenbach will sit down for an In Conversation With session to speak about the network’s 2024/25 programming strategy.

Elsewhere, Bing Chen, CEO & Co-Founder, Gold House, Sandra Dewey, COO, Media Res, Lisa Kramer, President, International TV Licensing, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Asif Sadiq, Chief Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Warner Bros. Discovery and Cori Wellins, Partner, William Morris Endeavor.

They join the likes of Fox CEO Rob Wade, Warner Bros. TV boss Channing Dungey, Lionsgate’s Television Chair and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Beggs, Universal Television Alternative Studio President Toby Gorman, Universal International Studios and UCP President Beatrice Springborn and Universal Television President Erin Underhill at the event.

“We’re thrilled to welcome these...

Sue Naegle and Ali Krug are in business with Universal Studio Group’s UCP.

The Emmy-winning pair has signed an overall deal with the Universal division through which their newly established Dinner Party Productions will develop and produce series.

This marks the first time former UTA, HBO Entertainment and Annapurna Pictures boss Naegle has worked directly with Universal. She exited her Chief Content Officer role at Annapurna in 2022. As we reported at the time, Krug had initially taken over her TV division responsibilities, but has since reunited with her former boss and long-time production partner to launch Dinner Party.

In development is a series adaptation of Elon Hilderbrand’s novel ‘The Five-Star Weekend’ for Universal’s sister streamer Peacock, with Bekah Brunstetter penning the script. The book follows a popular food blogger, who, after a tragedy, brings friends from distinct times in her life to spend a weekend in Nantucket.

SeriesFest has set its lineup and it now includes the likes of New Amsterdam star Jocko Sims and creator David Schulner, All American’s Nkechi Okoro Carroll and Dr. Death creator Patrick Macmanus.

This comes as the event, which is held in Denver between May 1 and 5, previously revealed stars such as Minnie Driver, the cast of Grey’s Anatomy and Hasan Minhaj to its lineup.

It has also added a full lineup of panels for its tenth iteration

There will be interviews with the likes of Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP and Universal International Studios, Grey’s Anatomy producer Betsy Beers and Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn, the team behind Penelope.

The event will also showcase a number of international shows including This is Not Sweden, Zorro, Estonia, Haven of Grace, Lost Boys and Fairies and Split.

“Season 10 of SeriesFest marks a milestone in our journey to elevate emerging and underrepresented voices in episodic storytelling.

Based on Robert McCammon‘s Stinger, the upcoming Peacock series “Teacup” will be produced by James Wan, and Deadline reports that Scott Speedman (The Strangers) has joined the recently announced Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) in the series.

Speedman and Strahovski will be the leads of the series. Deadline notes, “Speedman will play James Chenoweth opposite Strahovski’s character Maggie Chenoweth.”

The series from Atomic Monster, UCP, and Ian McCulloch (“Yellowstone”) follows a disparate group of people on a ranch who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat.

Stinger takes place during a single twenty-four-hour period in Inferno, Texas. Inferno is a town in trouble, driven to the brink by racial tension, gang violence, and a collapsing economy. But things can always get worse, and they do so with astonishing speed.

Atomic Monster’s James Wan, Michael Clear (Archive 81, Swamp Thing) and Rob Hackett (Archive 81, I Know What You Did Last Summer...

Peacock’s coming-of-age thriller “Hysteria!” is set to tackle the era of Satanic Panic, and Deadline reports that Garret Dillahunt (The Last House on the Left) has signed on.

Nolan North (Pretty Little Liars), Elijah Richardson (Fantasy Football), Milly Shapiro (Hereditary), Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13) and Jessica Treska (Alex & Me) have also been set for recurring roles, alongside the previously announced Bruce Campbell, Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis, and Nikki Hahn.

Written and executive produced by Matthew Scott Kane (Stitchers) and David Goodman (The Orville), “Hysteria!” explores America’s dark history of mass hysteria through the shocking story of the teenage Satanic Panic. The series follows a group of 1980s high school misfits as they exploit the growing hysteria around teen occult activity.

Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts will helm the premiere episode.

Here’s the full synopsis: “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during...

Based on Robert McCammon‘s Stinger, the upcoming Peacock series “Teacup” will be produced by James Wan, and Deadline reports today that Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is on board to star. The project, when announced last year, didn’t have a title.

The series from Atomic Monster, UCP, and Ian McCulloch (“Yellowstone”) follows a disparate group of people on a ranch who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat.

Stinger takes place during a single twenty-four-hour period in Inferno, Texas. Inferno is a town in trouble, driven to the brink by racial tension, gang violence, and a collapsing economy. But things can always get worse, and they do so with astonishing speed.

Atomic Monster’s James Wan, Michael Clear (Archive 81, Swamp Thing) and Rob Hackett (Archive 81, I Know What You Did Last Summer) will executive produce alongside director (101) / executive producer E.L. Katz (The Haunting of Bly Manor,...

“The Walking Dead” actor Josh McDermitt is set to star opposite Steven Amell in NBC’s “Suits” spinoff, “Suits: LA.”

The new series sees Amell star as Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York who built an L.A. law firm, Black Lane Law, specializing in criminal and entertainment law. The official logline reads, “His firm is at a crisis point, and in order to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career. Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can’t help but mix their personal and professional lives. All of this is going on while events from years ago slowly unravel that led Ted to leave behind everything and everyone he loved.”

Described as energetic, powerful and self absorbed, McDermitt will play Stuart Lane, who co-founded Black Lane Law.

While Aaron Korsh’s Suits concluded in 2019 after running for nine seasons on the USA Network, the show saw a resurgence after smashing viewership records last year following its debut on Netflix. Following this notable spike in its numbers that left fans craving for more, NBC has now greenlit the first spin-off to the original show, which will star Arrow actor Stephen Amell in the lead.

But considering Amell infamously deemed the SAG-AFTRA strike a reductive tactic, stating that the whole situation was frustrating, some were taken aback by NBC’s decision to have Amell lead Suits: L.A. Reflecting on this surprising casting, Industry Insider Jeff Sneider, alongside John Rocha, touched on the possible reasoning behind NBC’s decision.

NBC’s Suits

Industry Insider Jeff Sneider on NBC’s Possible Reasoning Behind Casting Stephen Amell

After facing extensive backlash for his statements against the strike, Stephen Amell claimed that his statements were misconstrued,...

Stephen Amell is suiting up. The actor will lead NBC’s upcoming “Suits” spinoff, “Suits: LA,” portraying Ted Black, “a charismatic force of nature who puts his own needs above others.”

“Suits,” which was produced by UCP, aired on USA Network from 2011-2019, spanning nine seasons. The series, which starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty, re-entered the conversation in 2023 as it began streaming on Netflix, topping their charts for multiple weeks. It has surpassed 45 billion minutes streamed on Netflix and Peacock combined.

Earlier this month, the spinoff landed a pilot order at NBC, with production set to start in March in Vancouver. The new drama, created by original creator Aaron Korsch, will follow a new group led by Ted Black, a former New York prosecutor who built an L.A. law firm that specializes in criminal and entertainment law.

Per the official logline,...

Before Meghan Markle married a prince and became the Duchess of Sussex, she was known as Rachel Zane on a television show named Suits.

The show ran for nine seasons, with Meghan in seven of them. Now, a spin-off is in the works, and the question is whether or not Meghan will be involved.

Beatrice Springborn is the Universal International Studios boss, and she revealed late last fall that the spin-off is indeed happening and will have the “same energy and good-looking people as the original.”

After a disastrous 2023, Meghan Markle and her famous princely husband, Harry, are looking for ways to reinvent themselves.

A part as an actress or even director on the spin-off would generate income and hopefully good press for Meghan.

She tested the waters with a small part in an online ad for a company she invested in, Clevr Blends, with mixed results. Fans were not impressed,...

Exclusive: UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, has extended an overall development deal with Tanya Saracho (Vida). She will develop and produce original projects for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms under the agreement.

Saracho is currently in development on several projects including the series The Wild Wild, inspired by the lives of Annie Oakley, America’s most famous sharpshooter, and the renowned trick-rider Señorita Rosalie, who were both stars of the famed Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

She will serve as co-creator and executive producer of the project along with Jenniffer Gomez, with Jamie Babbit attached to direct and executive produce.

“It’s a pleasure and honor working with Tanya and her company, Ojalá. Their creative brilliance and entrepreneurial approach to producing and writing is so rare, and we are thrilled to continue our partnership,” said Beatrice Springborn,...

A new study reveals that Harvey Specter from Suits is the most popular TV lawyer with the highest monthly Google searches. The character beats out other well-known TV lawyers, including Saul Goodman from Better Call Saul and Matt Murdock from Daredevil. The popularity of Suits experienced a resurgence on Netflix in 2023, leading to a spinoff show being announced.

A new study has found Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter from Suits is television’s most popular lawyer. Created in 2011 by Aaron Korsh for the USA Network, the witty legal drama most recently experienced an unexpected and record-breaking resurgence on Netflix throughout the latter half of 2023. Rising to the top of the Nielsen viewership charts four years after the last season aired, Suits would remain in the top slot for an impressive 12-week streak.

A new study conducted by injury lawyers Bader Scott has revealed that Suits’ Harvey Specter is the most...

The “Suits” buzz continues! Gabriel Macht and Patrick Adams, who portrayed Harvey Spector and Michael Ross, respectively, on the USA Network series, will be presenting at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

“Suits,” produced by UCP, originally aired for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019. Adams and Macht starred alongside Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty. Sources tell Variety that other cast members were invited to present as well.

Although the legal drama was successful during its initial run, even launching a spinoff, “Pearson,” it reentered the cultural conversation this year when the first eight seasons began streaming on Netflix. (It was already available on Peacock.) Since it arrived on the streaming giant, it topped the charts for multiple weeks, even breaking a record with the most-ever No. 1 appearances on Nielsen’s Streaming Top 10 chart.

There is currently a new “Suits” series in the works from creator Aaron Korsch,...

Exclusive: The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments, a book about death, written by hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos is set to be turned into a scripted series.

UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, has landed the rights to the project in a competitive situation.

In The In-Between, Vlahos recounts the most impactful experiences she’s had with the people she’s worked with—from the woman who never once questioned her faith until she was close to death, to the older man seeing visions of his late daughter, to the young patient who laments that she spent too much of her short life worrying about what others thought of her—while also sharing her own fascinating journey.

There’s no writer yet attached but Vlahos will serve as an exec producer on the series.

The book was published by Ballantine/Penguin Random House in June 2023 and landed...

After Suits became hugely popular on Netflix this past summer, it was announced that a spinoff set in L.A. is in the works. Universal executive Beatrice Springborn teases that the spinoff will have the same "energy and good looking people as the original did," with a focus also on strong storytelling. The failure of Pearson suggests that the Suits spinoff may struggle to recapture the magic of the original without the same cast, but focusing on the original's key ingredients could still be a key to success.

Suits' spinoff show gets an update from Universal executive Beatrice Spingborn, who promises some key similarities to the original. First airing in 2011, the hit legal drama follows a college dropout named Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) who finds himself working for top New York City lawyer Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). After 9 successful seasons, the show came to an end in 2019, but it's...

Universal International Studios is fast getting back into business following the end of the U.S. labor action, its bosses say.

In a keynote interview at Content London yesterday afternoon, Uis President Beatrice Springborn told delegates that productions such as Apples Never Fall and Day of the Jackal are back up and running, while new packages such as the buzzy Cape Fear TV reboot at Uis sister UCP are attracting offers.

This is despite the broadly downbeat perceptions around the entertainment market following a devastating 2023 that was punctuated by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the ongoing ad market downturn and a streamer business model reset.

Deadline revealed the noise around Cape Fear earlier this month. The Nick Antosca, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese project has been subject to the first big bidding war over a TV pitch after the double Hollywood strikes, according to sources, and has provided...

New details about the upcoming Suits spinoff have emerged since it was first announced. The Los Angeles-based show is in the planning process, according to Universal International Studios and UCP president Beatrice Springborn. The project is set to be written by Aaron Korsh, who created the original series, and per Variety, Springborn discussed the highly-anticipated title during an industry conference in the U.K. Fans of the original should expect some consistency between the flagship and the L.A. show as Springborn reportedly stated the new show would be set within “the same timeframe” of Suits. (Credit: Ian Watson/© USA Network/courtesy Everett Collection) She added that the show will “have the same energy and good-looking people as the original did.” While it’s unclear if that means any original series stars will appear, it’s an exciting update nonetheless. “We are working on it right now,” Springborn told attendees at the conference.

Suits fam, heads up, there are exciting developments underway for the untitled off-shoot of the series that was announced back in October. As the universe expands the makers are focusing on the attributes that made the original series so compelling for the viewers. President of Universal International Studios and UCP Beatrice Springborn recently revealed new details about the upcoming spin-off including the fact that the series will have the same “energy” as its predecessor.

New details have been revealed about the upcoming “Suits” spinoff, which is going to be set in L.A.

Written by Aaron Korsh, who created the original “Suits” series, the new show will be set “in the same timeframe” as the original, president of Universal International Studios and UCP Beatrice Springborn said on Wednesday.

She also promised it will “have the same energy and good looking people that the original did.”

“We are working on it right now,” Springborn told the audience at U.K. industry conference Content London, referring to the show as “Suits L.A.”. “It’s so fun and happy.” (A source tells Variety that “Suits L.A.” is not the official title).

Springborn, who joined Universal in 2020 from Hulu, explained that returning series like “Suits” were attractive to buyers. “A lot of streamers are looking for ongoing series, things that feel easy to watch,” she said.

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for The Iron Claw, The Marvels and Wish.

The Marvels special screening

Director Nia DaCosta, producer Kevin Feige, executive producers Mary Livanos and Jonathan Schwartz, and composer Laura Karpman attended a special screening event for The Marvels in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Two days later, after the end of the actors strike when SAG-AFTRA reached a new deal with the studios and streamers, star Iman Vellani made an appearance alongside DaCosta at a special screening event in Los Angeles.

Laura Karpman, Kevin Feige, Nia DaCosta, Rizzo the cat, Mary Livanos and Jonathan Schwartz Nia DaCosta and Iman Vellani

The Iron Claw premiere

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons joined filmmaker Sean Durkin at the world premiere of their wrestling film in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.

Inspiration can start at home.

For the panel of executives at this year’s MIPCOM Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, an annual get-together of the female movers and shakers in the international television industry, their first role models were their own mothers.

“My mother had a master’s degree in physics, to give you an idea of the brilliance of her mind,” noted The Hollywood Reporter‘s co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody when asked about her first mentor. “She was also one of the first Black engineers in New York. She was brilliant. She really wanted me to got into maths or science, but I was always attracted to words. I always wanted to talk about stories and tell other people’s stories.”

The answer echoed that of the other members on the Power Lunch panel: Ruth Berry, ITV Studios’ managing director of global partnerships, and Universal International Studios and UCP president Beatrice Springborn,...

Since Monk went off the air after eight seasons in 2009, fans have been enthusiastic for more.

Thankfully, Peacock understood their wishes, and a new chapter in the iconic franchise will premiere later this year.

Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie will be available to stream on Friday, December 8, 2023, EW.com reports.

The 90-minute movie finds Monk returning to solve one last, very personal case involving his beloved stepdaughter, Molly, a journalist preparing for her wedding.

Can a man like Adrian Monk have a successful return after all of these years?

View Slideshow: 17 Mystery-Solving TV Couples

The times have changed, but the heart at the center of this movie promises to deliver.

There is nobody Monk loved more on this earth than his beloved Trudy, and if her daughter is in peril, Monk will spring to the rescue without hesitation.

That's something we can take to the bank.

But what can we expect from Mr.

The Wict Network, an association serving women in media, is honoring four execs at the upcoming Leadership Excellent Awards (Lea).

Tara Duncan, President of Disney’s Onyx Collective, Wendy McMahon, President of CBS News & Stations and CBS Media Ventures, Cox Communications’ Kia Painter and Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP and Universal International Studios are to be feted at the event at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Friday November 3.

It is part of the SoCal Chapter of Wict.

It marks the first time that the awards have been held since 2019, before the pandemic.

The annual Lea awards honor four, high level, female, industry leaders who have shown incredible advocacy and mentorship throughout their impressive career.

“Tara, Wendy, Kia and Beatrice are ideal ambassadors of The Wict Network’s mission statement to create bold, self-empowered leaders through advocacy and leadership training. We are proud to honor these extraordinary trailblazers” said Jennifer Miles, President...

Channel 4 has renewed Simon Bird-starring apocalypse comedy Everyone Else Burns and greenlit a Rosie Jones sitcom titled Disability Benefits produced by Sharon Horgan.

Produced by Broad City maker Jax Media and Universal International Studios, Everyone Else Burns follows a family led by patriarch David (The Inbetweeners’ Bird) who are part of a religious sect known as The Order. It has been warmly praised for a light-touch, sensitive approach to the topics and Deadline revealed the first run was picked up by The CW in the U.S., although the network hasn’t yet picked up Season 2.

In Season 2, David’s daughter Rachel (Amy James-Kelly) searches for a new direction, there is a rebellion that could radically alter the entire congregation and the return of a figure from the past who could shape the family’s future.

Show also stars Kate O’Flynn, Lolly Adefope, Kadiff Kirwan and Morgana Robinson,...

The Hollywood Radio and Television Society has elected 12 new board members and six new advisory council members, and extended CEO Melissa Grego’s contract through 2025, the organization announced Wednesday.

Newly elected to the Hrts Board of Directors for a three-year term beginning in July 2023 are: Kathryn Busby; Ben Davis; Jaime Feld; David Eilenberg (Head of Content – Roku Media); Frank Jung (Co-Founder/Co-head of Digital Media – CAA); Lisa Katz (President, Scripted Content – NBCUniversal); Tim McNeal (Senior Vice President, Creative Talent Development & Inclusion, Disney Television Studios – Disney Entertainment); DJ Nurre (Executive Vice President – Unscripted, Endemol Shine North America); Brett Paul (President, Warner Bros Television – Warner Bros Discovery); Rhonda Price (Managing Partner – The Gersh Agency); Lauren Stein (EVP Drama Development – Sony Pictures Television) and Erin Underhill (President, Universal Television).

Existing board members elected to a new three-year term beginning July 2023 are Kate Adler (EVP,...

Made in Chelsea and That’s My Jam producer Monkey’s co-founders are stepping down after more than two decades at the helm.

In a note shared with staff, owner Universal International Studios President Beatrice Springborn said Creative Directors David Granger and Will Macdonald have “announced their decision to leave.”

“In addition to building a compelling premium unscripted business, David and Will have also built a fantastic team and are leaving Monkey well-positioned for the future,” she added. “I want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to David and Will for their dedication in building Monkey into the successful production company that it is today.”

Granger and Macdonald added: “It’s been an incredibly tough decision to say goodbye to Monkey. More than anything we are just immensely proud of the 200 series we’ve created and produced together at Monkey from Borehamwood to Hollywood and back again.”

The pair...

The co-founders of “Made in Chelsea” producers Monkey are stepping down after 23 years with the company.

Sources tell Variety that David Granger and Will Macdonald announced their decision to exit as creative directors of Monkey on Friday afternoon. It’s not yet clear why they’re leaving, but it’s believed they may set up another production shingle in the future.

Granger and Macdonald founded Monkey in 2000 and joined Universal International Studios in 2010 when the company was acquired by NBCUniversal. Since that period, Monkey has grown into a reality behemoth in the U.K., best known for the long-running unscripted show “Made in Chelsea” — now on Season 25 on digital channel E4 and also airing on Peacock in the U.S. — as well as “The Real Housewives of Cheshire,” which is on Season 16 for ITVBe.

The company’s other credits include the BBC adaptation of NBC’s “That’s My Jam,” fronted...

Before joining actor Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan Downey to help oversee their production company, known for projects like “Perry Mason” and the “Sherlock Holmes” film franchise, Amanda Burrell rose through the ranks in independent film.

A key lesson she learned early in her career: “Build your people.”

“The people you meet when you’re young and you feel so adrift are going to be in your life forever,” she told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View. “I’ve reconnected with people and talked to people, and it’s crazy how we’ve grown up together.”

One example is Beatrice Springborn, now president of Universal Content Productions and International Studios, whom she met during her indie film days.

“When we were in the early days of pitching ‘Sweet Tooth’ to the market, she was at Hulu running drama,” Burrell recalled. “We have such a deep...

Bruce Campbell is no stranger to the realm of demons thanks to the Evil Dead franchise, but what about Satanic Panic? Variety reports that the horror stalwart is the next to join Peacock’s straight-to-series coming-of-age thriller Hysteria!

Campbell joins previously announced cast members Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis, and Nikki Hahn

If that’s not enough, Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts will helm the premiere episode!

About the series: “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”

Bruce Campbell will play Chief Dandridge, described...

The Banff World Media Festival is growing its lineup.

Jennifer Mullin, CEO of American Idol producer Fremantle, is set to join the keynote lineup for the Canadian TV event. Lilly Singh and World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are also set to feature ‘In Conversation With’ sessions.

They join the likes of CBS President and CEO George Cheeks, Toby Gorman, President of Universal Television Alternative Studio, Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP and Universal International Studios and Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television.

The 44th edition of Banff will take place in-person June 11 – 14 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

“Each of these incredible individuals have changed the face of the industry in unique and important ways,” said Jenn Kuzmyk, Executive Director, Banff World Media Festival. “Jennifer Mullin no doubt will have us rapt with her vision of what it takes to helm one of the world’s global content powerhouses.

From Black actor Anna Camp joins the cast of Peacock’s straight-to-series coming-of-age thriller Hysteria!, a drama series that explores America’s dark history of mass hysteria through the shocking story of the teenage Satanic Panic.

Deadline reports that Camp, who joins previously announced actor Julie Bowen, will be a series regular.

About the series: “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”

Camp is set to play “Tracy Whitehead, a crusading Midwestern mother who has been the laughingstock of her community for years due to her extreme religious beliefs, but...