SundanceTV Renews Short Form Series ‘State of the Union’ for Season 2 With New Cast

Sam Asghari is celebrating Valentine’s with his wifey-to-be … or is it his “wife” now?! The Iranian actor posted an adorable mirror selfie with fiancée Britney Spears and technically called her his “wife” in the post, causing many to wonder if the two have already tied the knot.

Valentine's Day.Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears and Sam Asghari, the Beckhams, as well as Mandy Moore, Salma Hayek and more are celebrating Feb. 14 with sweet and heartfelt posts for their significant others.

Nikki Bella is opening up about fiancé Artem Chigvintsev's ongoing struggle with pneumonia. Nikki and her sister, Brie Bella, spoke with ET's Lauren Zima on Saturday at the 2022 Fanatics Super Bowl Party in Culver City, California, and the 38-year-old TV personality and pro wrestler shared some news about Artem's «terrifying» and persistent case of pneumonia.«He's doing well. He still has pneumonia, it's crazy!» Nikki shared.

Selena Gomez jumps out of a car and races towards someone while filming a new episode for the second season of Only Murders in the Building in New York City on Monday (February 14).

Rachel Zegler has confirmed that she’s dating West Side Story co-star Josh Andres Rivera!

Disney+’s season one finale of Lucasfilm’s The Book of Boba Fett clocked 1.5M U.S. households according to Samba TV from the show’s Wednesday to Sunday run.

An isolated house in the country, a small tribe of peculiar characters mostly keeping a wary distance from each other: That Kind of Summer (Un Ete Comme Ca) is a film set up perfectly for the pandemic era. The bonus zinger is that the house is a live-in retreat for supposedly, or maybe just possibly, recovering sex addicts. Nobody leaves, and everyone talks dirty. Denis Cote, the prolific Quebecois provocateur, must have been hugging himself when he thought of that one.

Chris Willman Music WriterIn the wake of the Astroworld tragedy, should festivals and concerts have a single person charged with the power of stopping a show if conditions grow dangerous? What greater demands will insurers be making since that Texas festival pointed up how an entertainment event can turn deadly? And where does responsibility start, or the buck end, if things go terribly wrong at a show?These were some of the issues discussed at a panel titled “How the Next Era Of Music Festivals Will Be Safe, Sustainable and Sold Out,” presented at the Pollstar Live conference for concert pros at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Either the second or third S-topic in that series could have supported a panel in itself, but the focus of the final part of the discussion among industry professionals inevitably focused on “safe.” And while much of the overall conference otherwise took on a post-quarantine “we’re back, baby!” tone, this one took on an elephant that has very much not left the room, even if Travis Scott headlines have receded while batteries of lawyers prepare their cases.

Over before it began. Since their split, fans have been curious to know why Kanye West and Julia Fox broke up and if it had anything to do with his recent Instagram posts about Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson.

Snoop Dogg used Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime to honour his late mother.

Sandy Tejada’s face or heard her voice more than once — especially since she is the only Afro-Latina acting in the pilot of the HBO Max comedy-drama series and in the trailer. “I play the host of a trendy restaurant, and I opened the show with Sarah Jessica Parker. But before that, I had the first line of the show, which is huge,” Tejada told HOLA! USA, adding, “I did not see this coming because honestly when I saw the trailer, and I heard my line, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t see my face! My scene got cut.’According to Sandy, it was a nerve-wracking moment because it had happened to her in the past when writers go in a different direction.

Still not on good terms? Meghan McCain voiced her displeasure with The View host Joy Behar after seeing her former coworker throwing shade her way.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has picked up three comedy pilots for the 2021 pilot season.Two of the pilots — a reboot of “The Wonder Years” and “Maggie” — are single-cams and will be produced by 20th Television. The third, an untitled multi-cam from Regina Hicks, is produced by ABC Signature.The “Wonder Years” reboot was originally announced as being in development back in July.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe HBO Max pilot “Verbatim” is rounding out its cast.Sara Gilbert, Rob Huebel, Leland Orser, Lyiq Bent, Tate Donovan, J.R. Cacia, and Kevin Dunn have all joined the project.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAnne Hathaway and Jared Leto have signed on to star in Apple’s scripted WeWork project, which has been ordered to series at the streamer.The series is titled “WeCrashed,” based on the Wondery podcast of the same name. It is described as following the greed-filled rise and inevitable fall of WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable startups, and the narcissists whose chaotic love made it all possible.Hathaway and Leto are both Oscar winners.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Titans” Season 3 has cast Jay Lycurgo in the recurring role of Tim Drake.Drake is described as a streetwise kid who’s managed to grow up on the toughest streets without losing his indelible belief in heroism. His easy-going demeanor is backed up by a near-genius mind, a natural detective with a perception of detail far beyond his years.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterArmie Hammer will no longer star in the upcoming Paramount Plus series “The Offer,” which tells the behind the scenes story of the making of “The Godfather,” Variety has learned from sources.It was announced in early December that Hammer was attached to lead the show in the role of Al Ruddy, who produced “The Godfather” back in 1972. The 10-episode series details Ruddy’s experience working on the iconic film.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Netflix series “Pieces of Her” has added five to its cast, Variety has learned.Jessica Barden, Omari Hardwick, Joe Dempsie, David Wenham, and Jacob Scipio have all been cast opposite previously announced stars Toni Collette and Bella Heathcoate.The series is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Karin Slaughter. In a sleepy Georgia town, a random act of violence sets off an unexpected chain of events for 30-year-old Andy Oliver (Heathcoate) and her mother Laura (Collette).

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Sandman” series at Netflix has set its main cast. Tom Sturridge is officially set to star as Dream, with the show also adding Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, and Sanjeev Bhaskar.The series is based on “The Sandman” comic book series created for DC by Neil Gaiman.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAn animated “Game of Thrones” series is in the very early development stages at HBO Max, Variety has confirmed with sources.There are no details available about what the focus of the potential series would be and no writers or talent are currently attached to the project.HBO Max declined to comment.Variety exclusively reported last week that a series based on George R.R. Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” is in the works at HBO.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterElan Mastai is developing a series adaptation of his novel “All Our Wrong Todays” at Peacock with Seth MacFarlane onboard as an executive producer.The project is described as a mind bending time travel love story that explores alternate versions of ourselves in dramatically surprising and often unexpected ways.Mastai will adapt the novel for the screen. MacFarlane and Erica Higgins will executive produce via Fuzzy Door Productions, with Fuzzy Door’s Rachel Hargreaves-Heald overseeing the project.

Prepare for more unhappy couples after SundanceTV renewed its short-form series State of the Union for a second season.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJamie Dornan has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming limited series “The Tourist.” In addition, HBO Max has boarded the project and will co-produce along with Two Brothers Pictures as well as serve as the show’s streaming home in the U.S.Alongside Dornan, the six-episode series will star Danielle Macdonald, Shalom Brune-Franklin, and Hugo Weaving. Filming is set to begin soon in Australia.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Showtime series “The First Lady” has cast Kristine Froseth and Jayme Lawson, Variety has learned exclusively.The pair join previously announced series stars Viola Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer, who will play Michelle Obama and Betty Ford respectively. Formerly known as “First Ladies,” the show is described as a reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO is developing the third season of the hit podcast “Serial” as a limited series, with LeBron James onboard the project as an executive producer.The potential series will examine the criminal justice system at work in Cleveland, Ohio. Following a young cop and the man he’s accused of beating, it dives into the inner workings of a middle-American courthouse and how the system impacts every person it touches: cop, lawyer, and citizens accused of and victimized by crimes.Shola Amoo is attached to write, direct, and executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Blacklist” has been renewed for Season 9 at NBC.The news comes after the show has aired three episodes of its eighth season. The first two episodes aired back in November, while the third aired last Friday, Jan.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple is nearing an order for the limited series “In with the Devil,” with Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser onboard to star, Variety has learned.The six-episode series would be based on the 2010 novel “In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption” by James Keene and Hillel Levin.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNBC’s revival of “The Weakest Link” has been renewed for Season 2 at NBC.NBC has ordered 13 more episodes, with production set to begin later this year. Jane Lynch will return to host the series, which sees contestants answer general knowledge questions to bank prize money across multiple rounds.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC is developing a series adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s “Paradise” novel trilogy, with “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo set to executive produce.The project is titled “Winter in Paradise,” named after the first book in the trilogy. The series focuses on Irene Steele, who shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to an extreme.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA “Harry Potter” series is in very early development at HBO Max, Variety has learned from sources.Rumors that a show set within the wizarding world have persisted for some time. Now it seems those plans are moving ahead, though no writers or talent are currently attached to the project.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBrie Larson is set to star in and executive produce the drama series “Lessons in Chemistry,” which has landed a straight-to-series order at Apple in a competitive situation, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is based on the upcoming debut novel from author, science editor, and copywriter Bonnie Garmus. Set in the early 1960s, “Lessons in Chemistry” follows Elizabeth Zott (Larson), whose dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a society deeming that women belong in the domestic sphere, not the professional one.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichelle Pfeiffer has signed on to star as Betty Ford in the upcoming Showtime series “The First Lady,” Variety has learned. In addition, Susanne Bier has signed on to direct and executive produce the anthology series.Formerly known as “First Ladies,” the show is described as a reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStampede Ventures and wiip have partnered to adapt the first book in Gareth L. Powell’s epic sci-fi novel series “Embers of War” as a television show, Variety has learned exclusively.Gary Graham is attached to adapt the book for the screen, with Breck Eisner onboard to direct.