As Broadcast Comedy Is Having A Moment, Fox Hopes ‘Animal Control’ Will Leap Out Of Its Cage

Bob Cross takes you through his selection for each of today's races, ahead of another action-packed line-up at the Cheltenham Festival...

Eamonn Holmes has asked fans to 'wish him well' as he was seen learning to walk again amid his gruelling recovery. The GB News star has been keeping his loyal followers updated with his health woes and his progress for years after first speaking out about his chronic pain battle.

CCTV footage of former world champion boxer Amir Khan being robbed at gunpoint for his £70,000 diamond encrusted watch has been shown in court during a trial. The Bolton boxer was robbed of the watch as he left a restaurant in east London on April 18 last year while with his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, 31.

Jeremy Hunt has defended the speed of the rollout of his Budget offer of free childcare for working parents with children under the age of five.

The family of a 'talented young man and lovely gentleman' have spoken of their heartbreak and he died just three days after being diagnosed with cancer.

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video UK & Ireland has boarded a pair of British true-crime series — one about the infamous Moors Murderer Ian Brady.

Viaplay has found its Inspector Rebus and author Sir Ian Rankin is keeping it in the name.

Korea’s HYBE, which manages K-pop band BTS, says it’s planning a series of acquisitions and investments in the U.S. entertainment market this year, after withdrawing from a heated battle with internet giant Kakao to take control of rival agency SM Entertainment. 

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, climbed 9% to a record €7.2 billion ($7.6 billion) for the financial year 2022. However, the company’s EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortization) slid 6% to €1.08 billion, down from €1.15 billion in 2021. RTL attributes this to higher streaming start-up losses and lower TV advertising revenue at RTL Deutschland, and the exits of RTL Belgium and Groupe M6. These effects were partly offset by record adjusted EBITA contributions from RTL Nederland and Fremantle, RTL said. The RTL Group has interests in 56 television channels, nine streaming services and 36 radio stations. The group’s content business, Fremantle, is one of the world’s largest creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content, including “American Idol,” “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor.” 

Ben Croll Cannes acclaimed filmmaker Marie Amachoukeli and leading French studio Miyu Productions will pair on “Happy End,” a macabre comedy Amachoukeli will co-direct with Vladimir Mavounia Kouka. Set for production in 2024, the project has already received backing from Bac Films and MK2, with the latter handling international sales. Variety has scored a first look at the project, which recently presented at the Cartoon Movie pitch and co-production forum in Bordeaux. Imagining a world without death and employing a visual style reminiscent of Max Fleischer, the 2D, adult-targeted film follows Bertha King, a suicidal career soldier who has the bad to luck to finally end things right as the grim reaper hangs up his scythe. Left yearning to die while death has gone on strike, the depressed hero must navigate a morose new existence all of sudden freed from the bonds of mortality.

Naman Ramachandran Sky Crime, pay TV operator Sky’s premium crime content channel, has acquired “The Torso Killer Confessions” from Cineflix Productions. The show delves into the decades-long journey to bring justice to the victims of the notorious ‘Torso Killer,’ also known as Richard Cottingham – one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Working in tandem with the cold-case Detective Robert Anzilotti who spent more than 20 years building an investigation and a relationship with Cottingham, Cineflix goes behind-the-scenes to unearth material and conversations linking Cottingham to six additional killings that date back to the 1960s. Sandra Piha, Cineflix Rights’ senior VP of sales, pan-regional, U.K., Ireland and Scandinavia, brokered the deal with Sky U.K.

James Gunn has been confirmed as the director of an upcoming Superman film titled Superman: Legacy at DC Studios.Gunn’s attachment to the film was confirmed via a Hollywood Reporter article on March 15. Gunn had previously announced the upcoming movie in late January alongside a fresh slate of DC films.Gunn wrote on Twitter: “Yes, I’m directing Superman: Legacy to be released on July 11, 2025.

aespa are set to release new music this spring, their label SM Entertainment has confirmed.Earlier today (March 16), South Korean news outlet StarNews reported that the girl group would be releasing new music this May. The news outlet also noted that aespa were initially scheduled to release an album in February, but it was delayed due to management disputes within SM Entertainment.Since that report, SM Entertainment has confirmed that aespa’s comeback date of May.

Jacob Elordi received a temporary restraining order from a Los Angeles court Monday against a man who he claims has been stalking him. The Euphoria actor, 25, told the court that a 61-year-old man named Robert Dennis Furo has made repeated unwanted advances against him in recent weeks, TMZ reported after reviewing court docs. Elordi, who plays Nate Jacobs on the HBO series, said that Furo last month left items including a note, a rose bouquet, candies and pastries over multiple visits to his home in Hollywood, California.

Madeleine McCann, has been contacted by an American family who think the 21-year-old could be their missing daughter. This comes after psychic medium and private investigator Dr Fia Johansson claims to have evidence "that shows Julia was definitely trafficked to Poland". The Polish woman is currently living in a Californian safehouse after she received death threats, writes Lancashire Live.

Foo Fighters, Green Day and Avenged Sevenfold have been announced as headliners at this year’s Louder Than Life festival – check out the full line-up below.The four-day festival in Louisville, Kentucky takes place at Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center from September 21 to 24, where the likes of Weezer, Queens Of the Stone Age, Limp Bizkit and Turnstile will also perform.Other acts on the massive line-up include Rancid, Tool, Godsmack, Pantera, Babymetal, Code Orange, Falling in Reverse, Deafheaven, Nothing But Thieves, Enter Shikari, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Bad Omens, Run The Jewels, Asking Alexandria, Jehnny Beth and many more.Check out the line-up poster below.“The fans spoke, and we listened,” promoter Danny Wimmer said in a statement. “The Foo Fighters, Green Day, Tool, and Avenged Sevenfold were our most fan-requested bands for 2023, so being able to deliver this massive lineup to them is so special.”Tickets are available to purchase now from here.Foo Fighters have also been announced to headline Outside Lands festival in San Francisco this summer, with other appearances planned for Boston Calling, Sonic Temple, Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park and Bonnaroo.The Dave Grohl-led band also announced a trio of US headline shows for this year across May and June.The upcoming dates will mark the group’s first full gigs since the death of Taylor Hawkins last March.

A Blantyre life-limiting illness support charity has thanked a local lodge for its donation so they can ‘continue to help people across Lanarkshire’.

Brix Smith has spoken to NME about her debut solo album ‘Valley Of The Dolls’, as well as the darker sides of Manchester and California and watching Gary Linekar soil himself on-pitch.Recorded alongside producer Youth, the album is a brittle yet melodic punk assault which the former member of The Fall described as “an absolutely cracking album where every song was a breath of honesty, and a mixture of light and truly filthy darkness”“It’s the best thing I’ve done since The Fall,” she told NME. “I can die happy now”.The record is the first to bear Smith’s solo name after many years of working with bands including The Adult Net and The Extricated.

David Martindale’s life changed when he started chasing money.

Kai has confirmed that boyband EXO are currently working on new music.In a recent interview with GQ Magazine UK, the South Korean musician opened up about a comeback for his K-pop boyband EXO. Notably, following Baekhyun‘s discharge from the military on February 5 this year, it will be the first time since 2019 that none of the members are serving their mandatory military service.“All the members are gathering after a really long time, so we are really looking forward to the fact that we can put out another album too,” Kai told the magazine, which added that the K-pop idol also confirmed that preparation work on new music has started.Kai said that the boyband are “not worried about what the results of this comeback would bring”.

Cameron Carter-Vickers might have pulled out of American contention due to an injury at Celtic according to one former US international - but another isn't having it.

Gina Birch of post-punk pioneers The Raincoats has spoken to NME about the release of her long-awaited debut solo album ‘I Play My Bass Loud’, and what to expect from her upcoming live shows.The musician, visual artist and filmmaker released her solo debut last month via Third Man Records and is set to kick off some UK live dates later this month. “It’s thrilling – it’s nothing I thought I’d be doing this time last year,” Birch told NME of going it alone.She compared the feeling to a point in the early 1990s, when she had thought she had turned her back on performing in order to focus on her work directing music videos for other bands (she would go on to work with The Libertines, New Order, Beth Orton and more).“I was in the edit suite, I think I was working on a video for The Pogues, and the phone rang,” she recalled. “It was [music agent] Russell Warby, who asked, ‘Would The Raincoats like to go on tour with Nirvana?’ It seemed mad, like ‘I’m making films, what the fuck?’ But it also seemed mad not to do it.

A Jet2 plane heading from Scotland to the Canary Islands had to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off after the aircraft reportedly developed a fault.

It’s Thursday and one star sign will feel satisfied with career developments, while another should be prepared for all possibilities.There are 12 zodiac signs - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces - and the horoscopes for each can give you the lowdown on what your future holds, be it in work, your love life, your friends and family or more. These daily forecasts have been compiled by astrologer Russell Grant, who has been reading star signs for over 50 years. From Aries through to Pisces, here's what today could bring for your horoscope - and what you can do to be prepared.

Naman Ramachandran The match fixing scandal that shook the world of cricket in the late 1990s is the subject of Supriya Sobti Gupta’s Netflix documentary “Caught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricket.” The film is produced by Passion Pictures, which has credits including Oscar winners “One Day in September,” “Searching for Sugar Man” and “The Lost Thing,” and Gupta’s MOW Productions. Gupta, a broadcast journalist by training, has worked for the BBC, Al Jazeera and Channel News Asia. She is no stranger to hard-hitting Indian subjects, having worked on “Mumbai Mafia: Police vs The Underworld” and “Bad Boy Billionaires: India.” “Caught Out” is her directorial debut.

A trainee solicitor stole more than £100,000 to fund a gambling addiction, a court heard. Tauseef Sadeeq, 31, was working for Bolton-based Jacob Miller Solicitors when he began tricking insurance companies into paying money meant for clients into his own bank accounts.

The Resident creator Amy Holden Jones is turning to crime.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Fox Entertainment has sealed a deal with “Life in Pieces” creator Justin Adler to create and develop new comedy series for the network. Under the latest of Fox’s recent string of what it calls “broadcast direct” deals, Adler (whose credits also include “Maggie”) will create series that will be owned by Fox Entertainment and produced by its in-house Fox Entertainment Studios shingle. The Adler deal was announced by Michael Thorn, Fox Entertainment’s president of scripted programming. Thorn previously helped develop “Life in Pieces” (which aired on CBS for four seasons between 2015 and 2019) with Adler, back when Thorn was exec vice president of development at 20th Century Fox TV. Also at 20th at the time was Cheryl Dolins, who’s now Fox Entertainment senior VP of comedy programming and development and who also worked closely with Adler while at the studio.

EXCLUSIVE: Matt Nix, the man behind Fox’s X-Men series The Gifted, is going direct with the broadcast network.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large As networks across the industry pull back on the number of series pilots they order, Fox is taking it one step further: They’ve decided to completely get out of the live-action pilot business. The network launches its only new live-action comedy of the season, “Animal Control,” on Thursday, and Fox Entertainment’s scripted president Michael Thorn says that show’s development is a case study in how series will be ordered moving forward at the network. Instead of a pilot, Fox commissioned multiple scripts in order to test the viability of the sitcom. “Script-to-series,” which has been a staple at several cable networks for years, will now be the standard for Fox as well.

Italian medical drama series Doc – Nelle Tue Mani is getting a U.S. remake.

“The Moodys,” “Wedding Crashers”) and follows the personal and professional lives of group of Animal Control workers in Seattle who deal with all kinds of critters and creepy-crawlies.There’s Frank (McHale), a snarky ex-cop fired for exposing corruption who considers himself a “lone wolf” and is bummed to be paired with his rookie partner Fred (Michael Rowland), a cheerful former snowboarder who isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer and is determined to bond with Frank. Then there’s quirky Australian Victoria (Grace Palmer); Amit (Ravi Patel), who takes phone calls during work where he sings to his son; their nervous and awkward boss Emily (Vella Lovell, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), who Frank likes because he says she’s easy to manipulate; office manager Dolores (Kelli Ogmundson); and their in-house vet, Dr.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic Before entering an ostrich enclosure, Frank, an animal control officer, sneaks something into his partner’s back pocket. It’s a stick of jerky, and within moments, Frank is openly guffawing as the flightless birds are chasing his hapless colleague. That’s the general vibe of “Animal Control,” a new sitcom on Fox. Here, “Community” alumnus Joel McHale plays Frank, a former cop who got fired after trying to root out corruption. (This is a neat trick in sidestepping the ongoing national conversation about policing — our complicated protagonist got removed from the force for being too virtuous.) His partner, a Fred who goes by Shred (Michael Rowland), arrived on this particular force through an unconventional path as well; he’s a former pro snowboarder whose laid-back affect suggests that, inside, he never really left the slopes.

BreAnna Bell Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Fox have entered into a non-exclusive broadcast direct deal to develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series through his production company G-Unit Film & Television, Michael Thorn, Fox Entertainment’s president of scripted programming announced on Tuesday. Projects created as part of the agreement will be owned by Fox Entertainment and produced by its in-house unit, Fox Entertainment Studios, in collaboration with G-Unit Film & Television. “Whether it’s music, film or television, Curtis always delivers premium entertainment that captivates millions of fans across the globe,” said Thorn. “He is the rare multi-hyphenate with a deft hand at storytelling, no matter the format or medium, and we’re looking forward to developing new and exciting series for Fox with him and his team.”

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has closed a non-exclusive broadcast direct deal with Fox Entertainment, the network announced Tuesday.Under the deal, the Emmy and Grammy Award-winning producer, director, actor and rapper will develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series through his production company G-Unit Film & Television, Fox Entertainment president of Scripted Programming Michael Thorn said. After rising to hip-hop royalty status, Jackson delved into filmed entertainment by launching G-Unit Film & Television in 2005, which produced Starz’s “Power,” in which Jackson served as a co-star, executive producer and director.

Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson has signed a non-exclusive multi-project broadcast direct deal with Fox.