NBCU Unveils New Bid to Lure Local Sponsors

, the iconic ABC series about castaways on a mysterious island, and has since been likened to, Showtime’s surprise hit survival series about a group of teenage girls stranded in the Canadian Rockies.

Changing the game. Being the only Black NASCAR star comes with both incredible success and high-profile controversy — just ask Bubba Wallace.

Serious about self-care! Meghan King offered a bit of advice on how to put yourself first following her split from Cuffe Owens.

Kerry Katona opened up about feeling uncomfortable in her own skin as her boobs 'keep getting bigger' despite undergoing a breast reduction surgery last year.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.“Love is Blind,” Netflix’s fan-favorite, extremely unhinged dating show, returned earlier this month. The second season of the hit series, which places 15 men and women in separate pods to get to know each other without being able to see each other, doubles as a social experiment aimed at answering a question as old as time: is love really blind?But now that most people have finally caught up on the new season — the final four episodes hit the streamer on Feb.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaKenneth Branagh, fresh off the Oscar-nominated success of “Belfast,” will reunite with Christopher Nolan on “Oppenheimer.” The two have previously teamed up on “Dunkirk” and “Tenet.” Branagh will play an unspecified role in the ambitious and pricey look at J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in creating the atomic bomb. Branagh recently starred in “Death on the Nile” and earned Academy Award nods for directing, producing and writing “Belfast.” Universal Pictures and Syncopy also announced Tuesday that principal photography has commenced on the film and revealed a moody first look of star Cillian Murphy as J.

Holly Willoughby detailed her date night disaster after chipping a tooth on a meal her husband Dan cooked for her.

It was human-cannonball David “The Bullet” Smith’s turn to wow the judges on the latest episode of “America’s Got Talent: Extreme”.

Playing Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick doesn’t mean Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on his side.

Carrie Ann Inaba has been inundated with support from fans after opening up on Instagram about her mental health.MORE: Carrie Ann Inaba celebrates her friendship with Sharon Osbourne with emotional postThe Dancing with the Stars judge got real with her followers about her recent struggles and highlighted how everything is not always as glamorous as it seems.In a lengthy statement on Instagram, the star detailed the dip her mental health took in the past weekend, and how she built herself back up.WATCH: Carrie Ann performs for Dancing with the Stars' Grease NightMORE: Carrie Ann Inaba wows fans with gorgeous blonde new lookCarrie Ann started off her statement with: "For whatever reason, my mental health took a nosedive and I was on the sofa for two days straight." She thanked her three kids and friends for lifting her "back up onto my own two feet again… by listening with grace and sharing their own difficulties and reminding me that it will be okay."The post featured a photo of the star with her hair and make-up glamorously done, wearing a ribbed, one-shoulder maroon dress. She used the photo as an example of how social media can hide when someone is struggling.A post shared by Carrie Ann Inaba (@carrieanninaba)Carrie Ann shares heartfelt update about her mental healthShe wrote of the image: "This photo was taken the day the drop started to happen… I just wanted to show you that people can look one way on the outside and feel another way on the inside.

Kelvin Fletcher and wife Liz Marsland are expecting twins together and as the debut series of their show, Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure, came to an end, the star paid tribute to her.READ: A look at Kelvin Fletcher and his wife Liz's romantic love storyAlongside a still of the pair, who have known each other since they were eight, the actor first wrote about his experience on the show. "It's the last episode tonight!" he enthused.

Amid reports of discrimination against transgender and non-binary school pupils, activists are calling for national non-discriminatory uniform guidelines.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.Festivals across the country have slowly begun to announce their star-studded lineups for the year, signaling that it’s almost time for music lovers to begin switching out their winter coats for rave gear.Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Kanye West will take the stage this year at Coachella, which finally returns after a two year-long hiatus amidst the pandemic. The festival will take place at its usual stomping grounds at the Empire Polo Ground in Indio, Calif., which will host Stagecoach the following weekend with Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs headlining.The Goldenvoice events made headlines  after announcing their lift of Covid-19 vaccine and mask mandates — health and safety requirements that are still in place for many other music festivals slated for this year, such as New York City’s Governors Ball.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTarak Ben Ammar has finalized his acquisition of the Studios of Paris, the vast studio facility located on the outskirts of Paris where Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler are currently filming Netflix’s “Murder Mystery 2.” The deal is estimated in the $35-million range.Ben Ammar, who co-founded the Studios with “Valerian” director Luc Besson a decade ago and owned a 25-percent stake in it, completed the acquisition via Eagle Pictures France, a subsidiary of the Italian production and distribution powerhouse.The businessman has taken full ownership of the Studios from its shareholders, including Besson, who owned a 9.9% stake in the complex through his holding company Frontline. The other shareholders who are set to exit the studios are EuropaCorp, Besson’s former production banner which is now mainly owned by Vine Alternative and has a 40% stake in the property, as well as Euromedia, a broadcast facilities provider who has a 25% stake.

Amber Dowling The Season 1 finale of HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” blew away the TV competition to earn the top spot on Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of Feb. 14 to 20.

Super Pumped: A Battle for Uber, an adaption of tech reporter and author Mike Issac's book based on the rise and fall of Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick. Starring as the infamous tech-bro, the impressive cast and crew also features award-winning talent in the likes of , Hank Azaria, Elizabeth Shue, and Quentin Tarantino in a narrator role.This is part of Showtime's new anthology series, Super Pumped, with a season two already in the works that will be focused on the working relationship between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.Read on for all the details on the new series that captures the messy story of the well-known ride-sharing app.What can be best described as a “ripped from the headlines” moment, the series' eight episodes will focus on the true story of the founder, with an emphasis on the powerful business folk who worked alongside the popular ride-sharing app.

Angelique Jackson MGM’s “Creed III” has partnered with the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) to hire eight student interns to work on the boxing drama, which marks star Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut.“On behalf of Michael and the filmmaking team for ‘Creed III,’ we are thrilled to welcome Georgia Film Academy students into our ‘Creed’ family,” said Elizabeth Raposo, president of Jordan’s Outlier Society.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhen Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen try to show CNN viewers the sights and sounds of New Year’s Eve in Times Square this year, they will face one of their biggest challenges: There won’t be any.The throngs of people who come to see the fabled ball drop in what is billed as New York’s “Crossroads of the World” won’t be in attendance, due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. For Cooper and Cohen, however, the show must go on.People at home will want to watch and ring out a terrible year, says Cooper.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThis year in sports can’t be summed up with Top 10 lists and reels of game clips. So ESPN is going to try some different tactics.ESPN plans a three-hour primetime event to bid farewell to year in sports that often involved events that took place well off the field.  The show, “SportsCenter Presents: 2020 – Heroes, History and Hope,”will air as three one-hour programs and will kick off on Thursday, December 24 at 8 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe newest ad from Procter & Gamble doesn’t feature any of its famous products, like Tide, Pampers or Crest. The only thing the company is really trying to sell is a good feeling at the end of a bad year.A new commercial from the consumer-products giant now available online and set to debut Saturday during broadcast of the Global Citizen Prize on NBC in the U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News said it extended primetime host Laura Ingraham’s contact with the network, ensuring her 10 p.m. program, “The Ingraham Angle,” will remain in its lineup for the foreseeable future.Fox News characterized the new pact as a “multi-year deal.” Ingraham joined Fox News Channel full-time in October of 2017 after establishing herself with a long-running radio program.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIn an era of streaming giants, the media outlet behind “Billions,” “Homeland” and “Good Lord Bird” is trying to stand apart from the pack by celebrating its smaller size.A campaign that started during the Emmys makes the point that Showtime  — available via pay cable and streaming video — has little intention of churning out dozens of projects every year. Instead, it focuses on crafting distinctive series and burnishes the creative forces behind them.“Our model is designed to favor quality over tonnage,” says Michael Engleman, Showtime’s chief marketing officer, in an interview.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorRita Houston, a steady presence on New York radio  — and an important musical tastemaker in her role as program director of Fordham University’s WFUV —  died Tuesday after a battle with cancer, the station said in a statement Tuesday. She was 59 years old.“Rita was the north star of WFUV’s sound and its public service, guiding the station’s musical direction for decades,” said Chuck Singleton, WFUV’s general manager, in a statement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSteve Kornacki has a new job that lets him keep his old uniform.MSNBC viewers revere the khaki-and-dress-shirt-clad correspondent’s ability to synthesize reams of polling data that helps them understand the twists and turns of various elections.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCleveland’s baseball team, known since the mid 1910s as the Indians, is expected to change its name, according to multiple press reports, the latest sign of storied sports franchises moving to keep pace with cultural shifts in the United States.The New York Times previously reported that the Cleveland Indians have decided to find a new team name, following years of protests from some fans and Native American advocacy organizations. The move, which the team has yet to confirm, would follow a decision made under pressure by the team now known as The Washington Football team to drop its previous moniker.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor“CBS This Morning” could get a new sunrise perch.CBS is contemplating a move that could harness a cavernous studio facility in the New York headquarters of its corporate parent, ViacomCBS, for use by CBS News — in particular its A.M.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhen the coronavirus pandemic lifts, NBCUniversal expects to aim its movies at two very different groups of audience.Jeff Shell, the CEO of the large Comcast unit, expects a chunk of consumers to rNBeturn to movie theaters, emboldened, perhaps, by the chance to attend communal events outside their homes once again.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDan Abrams is eager to turn a burgeoning interest in bourbon and whiskey into a new line of business.The entrepreneur and legal journalist’s Abrams Media has acquired the spirts review site t8ke.review and will use it to launch Whiskey Raiders, a new online resource that Abrams says will appeal to both whiskey aficionados and novices. The site aggregates individual reviews from various whiskey sites and uses a proprietary algorithm to assign a score for each product, with an aim to making choosing a bottle that much easier.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNational correspondents Jericka Duncan and  Adriana Diaz will take over as anchors of “CBS Weekend News,” the ViacomCBS unit said Friday.Diaz will anchor the Saturday broadcast from Chicago and Duncan will anchor Sundays from New York.More to come….