The world, in perspective.

When “The Gilded Age” premiered in 2022, the reception was warm enough. The HBO costume drama marked creator Julian Fellowes’ highly anticipated follow-up to “Downton Abbey,” bringing his eye for aristocratic quirks across the Atlantic and delivering the requisite dose of upstairs-downstairs intrigue. But the low-stakes pleasures of selecting silverware and

New achievement! “Dungeon Crawler Carl” is getting a comic series! The popular fantasy, LitRPG books by author Matt Dinniman will receive an ongoing comic book series from Vault Comics. The double-sized, 48-page first issue will launch in comic book stores beginning in January 2027. The following issues will be released monthly. The new comic will […]

“Carrie,” Amazon Prime Video’s series adaptation of Stephen King’s famous 1974 novel of the same name, has been renewed for a second season that will go beyond the events of the book. Per the official series description, “Misfit high-schooler Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her […]

Multiplatinum Atlanta rapper Wiz Khalifa has signed with 10K Projects and will release his new single “The Calm,” via the label this evening. The deal sees Khalifa returning to the Warner Music Group family and reunite with his close friend and former project manager, Marsha St. Hubert, who is now co-president of 10K Projects. The […]

“Obsession” breakout Inde Navarrette appeared on “The Kyle Buchanan Show” and offered up her advice to Hollywood on how to keep Gen Z audiences interested in going to movie theaters. It’s not just about original storytelling, Navarrette argued, but also assuring young moviegoers that corporate slop won’t be force fed to them on the big […]

Aamir Khan broke down onstage at the Singapore International Film Festival on Thursday as he recalled realizing, during the COVID-19 lockdown, that three decades of nonstop work had cost him years with his family. The Bollywood superstar, who was handed the festival’s Screen Icon Award by Hong Kong director Peter Chan Ho-sun, also shed light […]

Comcast is gearing up for significant job cuts in its cable and telecom business in the coming weeks, as the media conglomerate restructures ahead the expected spin-off of NBCUniversal in 2027. On the company’s third-quarter 2026 earning call, CFO Jason Armstrong said Comcast expects to take a restructuring charge of more than $1 billion in […]

On the evening of October 16, more than five million birds are estimated to have flown through Cook County, which includes Chicago. They were propelled by favorable winds brought by a cold front

Fans of both Daft Punk and Lego are about to get lucky. The electronic music duo and the toy brick brand have partnered for a new multi-platform collaboration spanning product, content and brand experiences. The partnership includes a Lego set based on the stage design from Daft Punk’s 2007 “Alive” tour, submitted on the toy […]

Seasoned Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mariam Naoum sees no shortage of creative talent in Arab television. The harder question is how to give that talent the time, development and routes to market it needs to thrive and build lasting careers. As head of the newly launched CineGouna Series, El Gouna Film Festival’s first development program […]

The TV Festival, previously known as Edinburgh TV Festival, has unveiled the first details of its inaugural event in Manchester. Set to be held for the first time in the northern city next year, the festival will keep its four-day schedule but will take place later in the month than usual. Previously the festival, which […]

Ahead of her emotional “Dancing With the Stars” tribute, Julia Stiles reached out to Heath Ledger’s former partner Michelle Williams. Speaking to Extra after the performance — which saw Stiles dance to Frankie Valli’s “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” in a sweet homage to her and Ledger’s 1999 classic “10 Things I […]

Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona is now Chiricahua National Park, the 64th national park in the United States. Its striking geologic landscape and biodiversity have drawn humans for thousands of years

Jane Krakowski is heading across the pond to reprise the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!” The Tony and Olivier winner will be back in Mary’s petticoats starting Dec. 7 at London’s Trafalgar Theatre, with her six-week run ending Jan. 16. Krakowski previously played the role on Broadway for a total of 12 […]

Some Americans lauded the 30-year-old bank robber as a Robin Hood-esque folk hero. Others castigated him as a violent criminal whose misdeeds were emblematic of the troubled era

At the “Back to Black” 20th anniversary concert in London on Wednesday night, Amy Winehouse’s essence was everywhere. The eager crowd lined up outside was full of winged eyeliner, leopard print, big hair and cigarette smoke; nary a vape in sight. Even the venue itself — the Roundhouse in Winehouse’s beloved Camden, the last place […]

While the year-long celebrations for “Star Trek’s” 60th anniversary continue to roll on, arriving in the Eternal City this week for Rome’s MIA Market, the iconic science-fiction franchise is at an inflection point, according to Trevor Roth, COO and president of development at Roddenberry Entertainment. “Right now, ‘Star Trek’ is at a bit of a […]

Fandango Sales has taken all international rights to “Galileo,” a new film from Italo-Brit director Roan Johnson (“Rider”), toplining Italian A-list actor Elio Germano as pioneering scientist Galileo Galilei, who famously stood trial before the Roman inquisition. Fandango is introducing the €8 million ($9 million) movie to international buyers during Rome’s

Spotify hit the mark on all its key targets in the third quarter of 2026, as the streaming-audio giant packed on 6 million subscribers in the period — to reach 306 million — and saw healthier growth in ad revenue. On the free, ad-supported side, Spotify added a net 11 million monthly active users to […]

Amanda Jiang, Joey Phillips (“Outlander”), Richard Brake (“Game of Thrones,” “The Mandalorian,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “Barbarian”) and Shayne Ward (“The Good Ship Murder,” “Coronation Street”) will lead the cast of gothic romance and supernatural thriller “Dracula: The Crimson Code,” which has started filming. The contemporary female-led Dracula re

Sales company The Playmaker Munich has closed further territory deals on animated family adventure film “Pirate Mo and the Legend of the Red Ruby” ahead of the American Film Market, where it will have its market premiere. The film has now sold to more than 50 countries. Variety is debuting the teaser (below). The latest […]

Sebastian Koch, star of Oscar-winning German film “The Lives of Others,” and Toni Servillo, protagonist of Italy’s Oscar winner “The Great Beauty,” are set to topline “The Lüneburg Variation,” a noir based in the world of chess, directed by Gabriele Salvatores. Salvatores – himself also winner of an Oscar for “Mediterraneo” – has started shooting […]

Alan Bennett’s “The History Boys” is going back to London’s West End after a 20-year absence. Nicholas Hytner returns to the National Theatre production he first staged in 2004, which later went to Broadway and won six Tony Awards there. Set in 1980s Britain, the comedy follows eight pupils at a Sheffield boys’ grammar school. […]

Producers behind Fan Bingbing’s “Mother Bhumi,” Cannes Un Certain Regard title “Rehana Maryam Noor” and BBC One and Stan drama “The Tourist” are among 14 picks for the debut Producers Exchange at Indonesia’s JAFF Market, which will hold its third edition Nov. 28-30 in Yogyakarta. The market runs alongside the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF) […]

Every series Bengali streamer Hoichoi launches over the next two years will get Hindi, Tamil and Telugu-language versions streaming exclusively on Netflix, under a partnership the two companies unveiled in Mumbai on Thursday. New titles will arrive on Netflix in the three languages at the same time as their Bengali debut on Hoichoi. The first […]

Indonesia’s film agency is helping draft a revised Film Law that would reshape its powers, while Jakarta, where Netflix now has four titles in production, is working to become a regional film hub. Fauzan Zidni, chair of the Indonesian Film Agency (BPI), tells Variety the first draft, prepared with the Ministry of Culture, has taken […]

Good news, “Guardians of the Galaxy” fans. Chris Pratt, who has played superhero Star-Lord across six films, recently confirmed that his character will return to the MCU and that the studio has already taken “hard action” to make it happen. “I have a great relationship with Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D’Esposito], and there have been […]

Sabrina Carpenter, Julia Roberts and Oprah were among the stars who paid tribute to Dolly Parton during the Country Music Association’s celebration of the late country icon Wednesday night. Oprah, who appeared in a pre-recorded video at the beginning of the broadcast, shared what Dolly meant to her. “We’re both Tennessee girls, and she represented […]

John Anderson, the country Hall of Famer behind hits like “Seminole Wind” and “Swingin’,” has died. He was 71. Anderson’s death was announced by his family across his social media accounts on Wednesday. No cause of death or further information was noted. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the passing of […]

Japanese filmmaker Ishikawa Hiroshi, whose credits include “Tokyo.sora,” “Su-ki-da.” and “Petal Dance,” is back with his first feature in 13 years. His new film, “the blue we touch” (original title: “Awo no Jo”), is in post-production and will be released in Japan in 2027 by Bitters End, which unveiled the project ahead of the Tokyo […]

Nitesh Tiwari’s “Ramayana: Part One,” starring Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, will be available to buy on demand from streamer JioHotstar in India after its theatrical run. The deal between JioHotstar and Prime Focus Studios will see the film sold as a separate on-demand purchase on the platform. The companies described it as the first pay-per-view […]

Vietnamese whodunit “Karaoke Murder” will open in cinemas across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia on the same weekend, a first for a film from Vietnam, according to its backers. The film, titled “Án Mạng Karaoke” in Vietnamese, will bow nationwide at home on Oct. 30. U.S.-based specialty distributor 3388 Films will release it that […]

Nicko McBrain, the long-time drummer for heavy metal band Iron Maiden, recently admitted he’d been invited to play golf with Donald Trump, but turned down the offer because of his staunch anti-MAGA beliefs — and that the president and his “bunch of cronies,” in McBrain’s words, “should be put in jail.” Like Trump, McBrain resides […]

South Korean director Hur Jin-ho thanked the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) for defending freedom of expression as his political thriller “The Assassin(s)” opened the festival’s 37th edition on Wednesday, two weeks after the Korea’s conservative opposition asked SGIFF to pull it. “I am truly grateful to the film festival for protecting artisti

Two-time Oscar-nominated producer Rodrigo Teixeira will receive the inaugural Árbol de la Vida Visionary Award at the GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF), the Los Angeles offshoot of the Guadalajara International Film Festival, on Nov. 6. The honor will be presented by Oscar-nominated actor Wagner Moura ahead of a screening of James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” which

SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains plot details from “Judgement Day,” the Season 6 finale of “Slow Horses,” now streaming on Apple TV. “Hello, River.” Those two fateful words announced Olivia Cooke’s return to “Slow Horses” after a four-season absence from the Apple TV spy drama. Cooke’s MI5 agent Sidonie Baker made a brief but […]

What have we missed on “Glee”? For six glorious, terrifying seasons from 2009 to 2015, we witnessed Ryan Murphy bring a fever dream to life. With each new episode, the musical dramedy series’ unique blend of satire and earnestness had girls, the gays and their allies pondering: What song that should be sung by Mercedes […]

Alexander Skarsgård knows how to make an entrance. The Swedish actor has been turning heads with his wacky red carpet looks while promoting his new fantasy romance “Wicker.” At the London premiere earlier this month, he donned a metallic gold Saint Laurent suit. If that wasn’t bold enough, he slipped into a pair of clear […]

The school year is off to a strong start: “Abbott Elementary” returned to ABC with the premiere of its sixth season on Oct. 7 and achieved its strongest viewership in a year. After seven days of viewing, the Season 6 premiere reached a total of 6.3 million viewers and a across all platforms. Not only […]

New research suggests that the ancient coffin was repurposed in the 10th or 11th century to hold the remains of an abbot who had overseen the London monastery

Keep on laughing: BET’s “ComicView” reboot has been renewed for Season 2. BET has ordered 20 more episodes of the revived stand-up franchise, which premiered in June as “ComicView: Rooftop Series.” Chris “CP” Powell returns as host of the program, which will see 60 comedians performing on a Hollywood rooftop. Veteran comics Affion Crockett, Cocoa […]

Another Batman villain may be getting their own TV series. A Poison Ivy TV show is in the works at HBO with “The Penguin” showrunner Lauren LeFranc as a producer, Variety has confirmed. LeFranc’s “The Penguin” marked the first live-action spinoff from a Batman movie, after Colin Farrell originated his villain in Matt Reeves’ “The […]

“Saturday Night Live” veteran Kenan Thompson weighed in on Shane Gillis’ controversial monologue, which sparked social media outrage due to a joke about women dressing like “whores” at the gym. “I know Shane, and I don’t know him to be a mean person, necessarily,” Thompson said at the Axios Media Trends Live summit. “But if […]

One year after the species was reclassified from “endangered” to “least concern,” green turtles in the western Indian Ocean exemplify that return—and the subtleties a global designation can miss

Dick Wolf’s One Chicago franchise — comprised of “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” — returned to NBC on Oct. 7 with a bang, ranking as NBC’s top three shows of the season thus far when accounting for seven days of viewership. “Chicago Med” led the pack, reaching 8.8 million viewers across all platforms in […]

Tom Cruise has been selected to receive the 52nd AFI Life Achievement Award. The American Film Institute will honor him at a gala tribute at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on April 24, 2027. Considered the highest honor for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award is given to a single honoree each […]

Just a week ago, “Clayface” was expected to easily top the box office, with opening weekend projections of $25 million to $35 million from 3,400 North American theaters. (Rivals suggest a slightly softer debut around $22 million to $28 million). Now, Warner Bros. and DC’s R-rated comic book adaptation might face some unexpected competition for […]

At first, plants below an elephant carcass die. Soil microbes and plants grow back soon after, but only a few select species. Herbivores later come in to munch on the nutrient-rich greens

A New Mexico state judge on Wednesday ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company liable last month for deceiving users about Facebook‘s data privacy and content moderation policies. The judgment by state judge Francis Mathew capped a yearslong legal case waged by the state, which first sued the state in […]

“Fourth Wing” author Rebecca Yarros and Amazon’s Prime Video have confirmed last week’s report that the TV adaptation of her bestselling romantasy series had found its leads in Esther McGregor as Violet Sorrengail and Emilio Sakraya as Xaden Riorson. “I’m so grateful to our producing and casting team for conducting a thorough, worldwide search to […]

Mexican production company Península Films & Entertainment has boarded “Insectario,” the debut feature of stop-motion animation wunderkind Sofía Carrillo (“Cerulia”). Eduardo Díaz Casanova of Península and Nicolás Celis of Pimienta Films, producer of “Roma,” finalized the co-production agreement at the ongoing 24th Morelia Film Festival. “’Insectario’ is a w

Kid Cudi has announced that he will star as famed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in “Jean,” a film that he also wrote and directed. The musician made the announcement on social media, posting images of himself in character and revealing that the film will begin shooting in 2027. “For years people have asked me about playing […]

The riverfront opera house is Shanghai's latest cultural statement. It features three performance halls and is designed to be accessible to everyone, not just ticket-holders

Neon has joined with The Guardian, MK2, James Wilson and Jonathan Glazer to bring “NAZA” to wider audiences and expand the footprint of the Venice prize-winning documentary. In the U.S., “NAZA” was originally released independently on Sept. 30 in 85 theaters across 30 cities, and has grossed more than $700,000. Overseas, the doc has theatrical […]

‘Tis the season! “The Holiday” is returning to theaters on Dec. 11 to celebrate the romantic comedy’s 20th anniversary. Starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black, the official logline for the 2006 holiday classic reads: “Iris (Winslet) is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the […]

Ron Funches is back with another stand-up comedy special. The comic, actor and fan-favorite from “The Traitors” will debut his new hour, “Eat Cookies & Die,” on the indie comedy streamer Gorilla Comedy+ on Nov. 2. The special will then launch on YouTube on Dec. 1. Funches is in “top form” in “Eat Cookies & […]

J.K. Rowling has written a new essay about her political views, noting they have not changed despite the harassment and death threats she has received. “It’s been six years since I wrote my essay explaining why I chose to speak up on the issue of trans activism and the risk I believe it poses to […]

Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” snagged the top prize at the Middleburg Film Festival, which ran Oct. 15-18. Starring Julianne Moore, Eisenberg’s third directorial outing won the audience award at the Virginia festival, which held its 14th edition over the weekend. Ava Duvernay’s “14th” took home the prize for best documentary feature, while “La Bola Negra” […

Inspiration for a great storyline can come from anywhere — whether that be a classic work of literature or a great pop song. It’s become somewhat of a bit for “Blue Film” writer-director Elliott Tuttle to include a reference to Lana Del Rey’s music in his screenplays. He’d written three (as yet unproduced) screenplays before […]

You can’t rain on her parade. Lea Michele is returning to the role that launched her career in Disney+ and Hulu’s reboot of “Glee,” the Ryan Murphy-created musical dramedy series. Variety has confirmed the news with multiple sources. “She’s in,” one source said. “It’s still early-ish days, but it feels good and we’re happy to […]