Exclusive: Everyone’s favorite adventurous toddlers are getting the big-screen treatment unlike any film or show in the franchise before, with sources telling Deadline that Rugrats, the classic Nickelodeon cartoon from the 1990s, is getting a live-action/CGI feature adaptation with Jason Moore on board to direct. Saturday Night Live star Mikey Day co-wrote the script with Streeter Seidell.

Created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain, the Nickelodeon series premiered in 1991 and became one of the network’s most popular series. It followed a group of toddlers — Tommy, Chuckie, Phil and Lil — and their day-to-day lives, usually involving life experiences that become much greater adventures for the foursome.

The show would get rebooted in 1996 following three seasons and would go on to last through the 2000s. Its popularity led to three animated movies and a number of accolades, and has gained new life as a new generation discovers old episodes on streaming.

By the time he died at 59 on October 2, 1985 as the most famous early casualty of the AIDS crisis, Rock Hudson had unwittingly become more than just a tragic victim of a horrible disease; he was also one of the first star actors of his generation to be outed as gay. It was something he zealously guarded by necessity in order to remain a star. It’s at the center of the HBO/Max film documentary “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed,” which paints a fascinating but bittersweet portrait of the film icon’s life in the closet. “It goes back to the ethics of the day,” believes the film’s director Stephen Kijak (pronounced “Kayak”). “One didn’t speak of those things.” But a code of silence also helped Hudson keep his secret across decades. “There was such goodwill around him,” he adds. “He was notoriously the nicest man in Hollywood.

Exclusive: Following a competitive bidding, Linden Productions has acquired the rights to Alice Sadie Celine, the adult debut novel of Nyt-Bestselling author, Sarah Blakley-Cartwright. Jen Silverman will adapt the script with Linden Productions on board to develop and produce the feature film. Blakley-Cartwright will also remain on the project as an Executive Producer.

The story centers on a lauded feminist who becomes entangled with her daughter’s best friend. The novel was selected for the Indie Next List, showcasing the top nominated titles that booksellers nationwide are most excited to share with readers.

The deal was helmed by producer Riva Marker of Linden Entertainment. Marker is a known visionary for bold and provocative storytelling, shown especially in her championing of first-time directors such as Paul Dano’s Wildlife, Susanna Fogel’s Life Partners, Natalie Erika James’ Relic and most recently Tina Satter’s award-winning HBO Films crime-drama Reality starring Sydney Sweeney,...

UTA has signed Southern comedian, writer, and actor Fortune Feimster for representation in all areas.

Becoming a household name through her Netflix specials Sweet & Salty and Good Fortune, both of which were nominated for a Critics Choice Award, Feimster just filmed her third for the streamer in Seattle, Wa.

Currently, Feimster’s shooting the second season of Fubar, Netflix’s action comedy series led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, which came in at No. 1 globally in its first 10 days of release and topped 100 million views in less than a week. A North Carolina native who began her ascent to popularity as a writer and panelist on E’s hit show Chelsea Lately, she’s been a series regular on The Mindy Project (Hulu) and Kenan (NBC), recurred on CBS’s Life in Pieces, and guest starred on numerous series, including 2 Broke Girls, Workaholics, Glee, and Tales of the City.

Feimster’s film credits include Family Switch,...

Tokyo Vice is back from quite a lengthy hiatus. And despite the nearly two-year gap between seasons — one that saw a full rebrand for streamer Max — things pick up pretty much exactly where they left off.

Series executive producer and director Alan Poul, who helmed the first two episodes, suggests the handling of the pair will probably soften the blow for viewers. “The premiere is like episode nine of season one, a direct continuation,” Poul says of the two-part Feb. 8 premiere. “The second episode is really the start of the new storylines.”

Tokyo Vice has been a bizarre culmination of interests for Poul. The prolific TV producer (Tales of the City, My So-Called Life, Six Feet Under, The Eddy) and director (Big Love, Swingtown, The Newsroom) has been speaking Japanese since he spent time in the country as a teenage foreign exchange student. He doubled down in college, pursuing an...

Fellow Travelers is a historical drama miniseries created by Ron Nyswaner. Based on Thomas Mallon‘s 2007 fictional novel of the same name, the Showtime series is set in 1950s Washington D.C. and it revolves around the relationship between Hawkins Fuller and Timothy Laughlin. After a chance encounter Hawkins and Timothy start a relationship that lasts for more than three decades. Fellow Travelers stars Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey in the lead roles with Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache, Noah J. Ricketts, and Allison Williams starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the Showtime series here are some similar shows you could watch next.

When We Rise (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – ABC

Synopsis: “When We Rise” chronicles the real-life personal and political struggles, set-backs and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women, who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil...

Academy Award nominee Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy) is set to star opposite Hillary Baack (Sound of Metal) in Close to You, a new film from BAFTA-winning writer-director Dominic Savage (I Am…), which has wrapped production in Canada.

Pic follows Sam (Page), who has a chance encounter with an old friend (Baack) on his way home to a dreaded family reunion that forces him to confront long-buried memories.

Producers include Krishnendu Majumdar and Richard Yee, who developed the project under their UK banner, Me + You Productions; Daniel Bekerman and Chris Yurkovich of Good Question Media in Canada; and Savage and Page, who together conceived and co-authored the story. Kindred Spirit is co-financing with Anita Gou and Sam Intili (I Saw the TV Glow) exec producing alongside Rolling Dices Nia Vazirani (The Trial of Chicago 7), as well as Matt Jordan Smith of Page’s PageBoy Productions.

Exclusive: Morris Chestnut (The Best Man: The Final Chapters), DomiNque Perry, Claudia Logan (Harlem), and Bryan Terrell Clark (When They See Us) have been cast opposite Diarra Kilpatrick on her upcoming BET+ series Diarra from Detroit.

Created by and starring Kilpatrick, the original dark comedy series, which is part of Kilpatrick’s recent overall deal with BET, is slated to premiere on BET+ in late 2023.

Diarra from Detroit follows Diarra Brickland (Kilpatrick) a divorcing schoolteacher who refuses to believe she’s been ghosted by her rebound Tinder date. Her search for the missing man pulls her into a decades-old mystery involving the Detroit underworld. As the case unfolds, her co-workers, friends, and lovers become unlikely allies as she falls down a dangerous rabbit hole.

Chestnut plays Swa, Perry portrays Aja, Logan is Moni and Clark plays Mr. Tea. Character descriptions are being kept under wraps for now.

Vera Farmiga to star in ‘The Corps’ (Wt) – Photo Courtesy of David Needleman

Netflix has given a series order to The Corps (the working title), based on Greg Cope White’s The Pink Marine memoir. Described as a comedic drama, the 10-episode season has Miles Heizer (13 Reasons Why), Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel), Max Parker (Vampire Academy), and Liam Oh (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s The Notebook) on board in starring roles.

Andy Parker (Tales of the City) is writing and will executive produce and serve as showrunner. Television icon Norman Lear, Brent Miller, Rachel Davidson, and Scott Hornbacher are also executive producing, with Peter Hoar (The Last of Us) attached to direct and executive produce the first episode. Greg Cope White is writing and producing.

Miles Heizer stars in ‘The Corps’

Netflix released the following description of The Corps along with the cast and characters:

Set in 1990, The Corps (Wt) is about Cameron,...

Netflix has greenlit a series — which counts the legendary Norman Lear among its executive producers — that will follow a gay teenager who enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps.

The streamer has ordered 10 episodes of The Corps, a drama that will follows Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), a bullied gay teen who joins the Marines with his straight best friend, Ray McCaffey (Liam Oh), in 1990 — a pre-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell era when being gay in the military could mean jail time or worse. The series comes from Sony Pictures Telelvision and Lear’s Sony-based Act III Productions and is inspired by Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine.

Vera Farmiga and Max Parker also star as, respectively, Cameron’s mother and a Marine sergeant who sees himself in Cameron. The cast also includes Cedrick Cooper, Ana Ayora, Angus O’Brien, Dominic Goodman, Kieron Moore, Nicholas Logan, Rico Paris, Blake Burt,...

Netflix has ordered a Marine comedy drama starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga.

The streamer has greenlit The Corps (w/t), which comes from Andy Parker and Norman Lear.

The series is inspired by Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine.

Set in 1990, The Corps is about Cameron, a bullied, gay high school student who joins the Marine Corps with his straight best friend, Ray — a dangerous move when being gay in the military meant jail time or worse. As these two friends plunge into Marine Corps boot camp, where the landmines are both literal and metaphorical, they join a platoon of young men on a harrowing journey of transformation.

Heizer plays Cameron and Farmiga plays his mother Barbara.

Max Parker, Liam Oh, Cedrick Cooper, Ana Ayora, Angus O’Brien, Dominic Goodman, Kieron Moore, Nicholas Logan, Rico Paris, Blake Burt, Logan Gould, Zach Roerig, Johnathan Nieves, Brandon Tyler Moore, Ivan Hoey Jr.,...

Another new series from Norman Lear is coming to Netflix, but this time around the King of Sitcoms is tackling drama. The streaming service has greenlit “The Corps,” the working title of a new comedy-drama starring Vera Farmiga, Miles Heizer, Max Parker and Liam Oh.

Set in the 1990s, the drama will follow Cameron (Heizer), a high school student who is bullied for being gay. He decides to join the Marine Corps along with his straight best friend Ray (Oh) during a time when being gay in the military could mean jail time. The 10-episode series is inspired by the memoir “The Pink Marine” by Greg Cope White.

Prior to “The Corps,” Heizer is best known for starring in “13 Reasons Why” as Alex Standell. He’s also starred in “Nerves” as well as “Rails and Ties.” He will be joined by “The Departed” and “The Many Saints of Newark” star Farmiga,...

For two seasons now, housewife Billie (Sarah Shahi) has been slowly losing the life she once knew in favor of chasing the high of her sexually adventurous youth. In Netflix's "Sex/Life," Billie finds herself torn between her reliable husband Cooper (Mike Vogel), and Brad (Adam Demos), the hunky Australian ex who wanders back into her life. Later, when the romantic house of cards she's built tumbles down completely, she ends up hooked on a new man, restaurant owner Majid (Darius Homayoun). "Sex/Life" definitely isn't Netflix's best show, but plenty of fans still like the "Sex and The City"-style series because it's a reliably steamy adult-oriented romance.

Apparently, though, Billie's wild ride has come to an end. Variety is reporting that the Stacy Rukeyser-created show "Sex/Life" has been canceled after just two seasons. Luckily, though, the show actually wrapped up most of its major plotlines in its latest season finale.

Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Sundance award-winning trans drama “Mutt” in the run up to its screening on closing night of New Directors/New Films in New York.

Penned and directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, “Mutt” world premiered at Sundance where it won a Special Jury Acting Award for Lio Mehiel. It went on to have its international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

Described as an emotional drama overlapping past, present and future, “Mutt” follows Feña, a young trans man bustling through life in New York City. Over the course of a single hectic day, Feña is swept through the extremes of human emotion, when people who seemed to have disappeared when he transitioned are suddenly back in his life. He unexpectedly reconnects with an estranged ex-boyfriend (Cole Doman), is suddenly saddled with his wayward little sister (MiMi Ryder), and nervously awaits their father (Alejandro Goic...

Exclusive: Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier) and Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) have closed deals to star opposite Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink in Searchlight Pictures’ original rock opera O’Dessa from Patti Cake$ filmmaker Geremy Jasper. It is heading into production in Croatia in May.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa follows Sink’s farm girl of the same name on an epic quest to recover a cherished family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love – but in order to save his soul, she must put the power of destiny and song to the ultimate test.

While no details as to Bartlett’s role have been disclosed, sources tell Deadline that Harrison will play O’Dessa’s love interest, Euri Dervish — a punk performer described as an “unholy mix of Iggy Pop, Marlene Dietrich and Prince.”

Written and to be directed by Jasper,...

Exclusive: Paradigm has signed actor, filmmaker and artist Lío Mehiel for representation in all areas on the heels of their breakout performance in Mutt, which led them to become the first trans actor to nab Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award at this year’s festival.

Related Story CAA Signs Sundance Prize-Winning ‘Palm Trees And Power Lines’ Filmmaker Jamie Dack Related Story Paradigm Hires Varun Monga, Ups Sanam Sarani & Sheridan March To Agents; Paradigm Media's Two Twelve Adds Olivia Annacone Related Story Savanah Leaf's 'Earth Mama', Sundance Prize Winner 'Mutt' To Bookend New Directors/New Films

Mehiel’s first-ever feature, from writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, has them starring as Feña, a young, NYC-based trans man navigating the extremes of human emotion with the most important people in his life. Deadline’s Damon Wise, in his review of the film out of Sundance, called Mehiel’s performance “soul-baring” and “pitch-perfect,...

Book your flight, hide your drugs, and pack your bags because Adele Lim is bringing you on an unpredictable joy ride of discovery across the pond! From the producers of Neighbors and the co-screenwriter of Crazy Rich Asians, the Joy Ride red-band trailer features Ashley Park, Oscar-nominated actress Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, and Sabrina Wu (Doogie Kamealoha M.D.) as four friends on a journey of discovery, identity, and outrageous adventures.

The Joy Ride red-band trailer is a hilarious and unapologetic look at Lim’s new comedy, centering on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin.

The Nicolettis set out to con a fellow con man in The Company You Keep Episode 3, “Against All Odds,” on ABC. And in doing so, The Company You Keep added another star to its already impressive cast list — Luke Kirby. Read on to learn more about the actor and where fans might have seen him before he guest-starred in The Company You Keep.

Jes Macallan as Martha Pope and Luke Kirby as Jones Malone | ABC/Raymond Liu Luke Kirby stars as Jones Malone in ‘The Company You Keep’

The Company You Keep fans will meet Jones Malone, played by Luke Kirby, in episode 3, “Against All Odds,” which premieres on Sunday, March 5, at 10 p.m. Et on ABC.

The synopsis for “Against All Odds” reads, “The Nicolettis persuade a wealthy woman to seek revenge on her con man fiancé at a horse race. Meanwhile, Emma meets Charlie’s family. And the...

For Rolling Stone’S Third annual Icons & Influences feature, we asked eight of our favorite artists and entertainers to pay tribute to the women who have inspired them, in life as well as in their careers. Broadway and Emily in Paris star Ashley Park credits actress and producer Laura Linney for helping her “transition from being a theater actor to a screen actor.”

I had never been in a costume or hair fitting before when Laura came into the makeup and hair room for [our Netflix miniseries] Tales of the City.

Miramax TV is bolstering its executive ranks with the addition of David R. Shraga as SVP and Head of Business & Legal Affairs for the studio’s Global Television operations. Shraga will report to Head of Global TV Marc Helwig, and is responsible for all domestic and international co-production relationships, above the line deal making, licensing, and distribution agreements.

Shraga is overseeing production in London of Guy Ritchie’s scripted series The Gentlemen for Netflix UK, and has overseen production in Istanbul of The Turkish Detective, the first Hollywood international drama series produced in Istanbul for Paramount+.

Prior to his move to Miramax, Shraga rose through the ranks at Universal Studio Group and NBC Entertainment. In his latest role as Vice President of Business Affairs, he oversaw policy and strategy, along with the negotiation of talent, development, production, licensing, and distribution deals for all U.S. and global facing scripted television...

Two men meet after the collapse of society. One of them falls into a booby trap, hidden outside the wire-fenced border of the other man’s suburban ghost town. He is bedraggled, hungry. The other man shows sympathy and invites him in for a meal. There is tension in the air. The threat of violence. And yet, the opposite happens – they fall in love. For nearly two decades, these men grow old together, away from the plague that has decimated the world. Eventually, they die together.

This beautiful, heart-pinching story is the focus of “Long Long Time”, the third episode of The Last of Us. Up to this point, HBO’s post-apocalyptic video game adaptation had been a violent dystopian nightmare. There were brutal fights. Traumatic deaths. Viscerally upsetting monsters. At the heart of it were Joel (Pedro Pascal), Tess (Anna Torv) and 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey), picking their way through a ravaged society.

Prime Video’s romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding features two actors very familiar with the genre, although this rom-com appears to be much more action-oriented than lovey-dovey. Do people still say lovey-dovey? Anyhow, the latest trailer shows the chaos that erupts after Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel’s wedding is interrupted by armed intruders.

The cast also includes Jennifer Coolidge (who just won a Golden Globe for her performance in The White Lotus), Sonia Braga, Cheech Marin, Selena Tan, and D’Arcy Carden. Callie Hernandez, Desmin Borges, Steve Coulter, Alberto Isaac, and Lenny Kravitz also join Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel for some rom-com action-thriller fun.

Jason Moore directed from a screenplay by Mark Hammer. Lopez, Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, Alexander Young, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Benny Medina produced.

Shotgun Wedding will premiere on Prime Video on January 27, 2023.

Jennifer Lopez as Darcy Rivera and Josh Duhamel as Tom Fowler in ‘Shotgun Wedding’ (Photo Credit: Ana Carballosa)

The Plot,...

Exclusive: Emmy winner Murray Bartlett has signed with WME.

After a breakthrough performance on season one of HBO’s The White Lotus, Bartlett won his first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series. Additionally, he took home the Critics Choice Award and was nominated for a SAG Award and Independent Spirit Award for the role.

He can currently be seen starring in Hulu’s limited series Welcome to Chippendales, which premiered in November.

Bartlett will return to HBO in the upcoming series The Last of Us, which premieres January 15. He has also joined the Apple+ anthology series Extrapolations. On the film side, Bartlett recently wrapped production on the independent feature Ponyboi, written by River Gallo and directed by Esteban Arango.

Additional TV credits include Apple+ series Physical, Marvel/Netflix’s Iron Fist, CMT’s Nashville, CBS’ Limitless, Netflix revival of Tales of the City, and the HBO series Looking,...

Michelle Visage (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”) and Sarah Cooper (“Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine”) are among the new cast members added to comedian Michelle Buteau’s upcoming Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest.”

Visage will play Avery in the comedy, which has been picked up for eight episodes, while Cooper will play Sydney. Also added to the cast are Anthony Michael Lopez as Bruce, Liza Treyger as Jade and Allan K. Washington as Trent.

Besides Buteau, previously announced cast members include Tone Bell, Tasha Smith, Garcelle Beauvais, Anissa Felix, Taylor Selé, and Marouane Zotti.

“Survival of the Thickest” is based on Buteau’s 2020 essay book of the same name. The comedian stars as Mavis Beaumont, a Black, plus-size woman navigating life after she finds herself newly single. Per the show’s logline, “Mavis unexpectedly finds herself having to rebuild her life as a struggling stylist. She’s determined to not only...

Parker Posey and Wagner Moura have joined the upcoming “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” series at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.

The duo joins previously announced series leads Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, as well as Michaela Coel, John Turturro, and Paul Dano. Posey and Moura will appear in recurring roles. Details around their characters are being kept under wraps.

Posey was most recently seen in the AMC anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead” as well as the critically-acclaimed HBO Max limited series “The Staircase.” Her other TV credits include the Netflix reboot of “Lost in Space” as well as “Search Party,” “The Good Wife,” and “Tales of the City.” On the film side, she is known for appearing in Christopher Guest films like “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” and “Waiting for Guffman” along with films like “Dazed and Confused” and “You’ve Got Mail.”

She is repped by Gersh.

Every announcement regarding the cast of "Star Wars: The Acolyte" further proves that Leslye Headland's new series is going to be a collection of Film Twitter favorites. The series is led by "The Hate U Give" and "Bodies, Bodies, Bodies" star Amandla Stenberg with "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, "Queen & Slim" star Jodie Turner-Smith, and "The Good Place" favorite Manny Jacinto also appearing. Today's announcement has us praying we're not caught in a time loop, as "Russian Doll" star Charlie Barnett joins the cast.

Barnett has been working for quite some time, with his breakthrough role on "Chicago Fire" before nabbing roles in "Valor," "Tales of the City," "Arrow," and "You." Headland is also the co-creator of "Russian Doll," which makes "The Acolyte" a bit of a reunion for the duo. Details on Barnett's character have not been released, but sources for The Hollywood Reporter believe the role...

Exclusive: Actor Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll) has signed with Stagecoach Entertainment for management.

Barnett is perhaps best known for his starring role opposite Natasha Lyonne on the Emmy-winning series Russian Doll, which Lyonne created with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler for Netflix. The show centers on Nadia (Lyonne), a cynical young woman in New York City who keeps dying and returning to the party that’s being thrown in her honor on that same evening, ultimately trying to find a way out of this strange time loop. Barnett’s character, Alan Zaveri, comes to bond with Nadia, given the fact that he is likewise stuck in this mysterious loop. Russian Doll returned for its anticipated second season in April, having debuted on Netflix in February of 2019.

A Juilliard graduate, Barnett played the lead role of Peter Mills on NBC’s hit series Chicago Fire over the course of its first three seasons.

The Emmy best actress races are becoming increasingly competitive as big-name stars participate in creating shows, reclaiming the power to be leading ladies carrying an increasingly complex narrative. Take Julia Roberts and her role as the Washington socialite turned whistleblower Martha Mitchell in Starz’ limited-series Emmy contender “Gaslit.”

With Mitchell, the actress-producer explores a woman of contradictions: a stylish hostess who tipsily goes over the edge into drug and alcohol abuse; a political player on the arm of Richard Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell (Sean Penn), whose marriage crumbles under the weight of an administration in crisis; and a traumatized wife and mother experiencing Ptsd after repeatedly being roughly thrown under the bus by the powerful white men in the room.

What Roberts and her fellow producers have done here is to take the familiar narrative of the White House burglars first exposed by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein,...

Elliot Page spoke to Seth Meyers on Late Night last night how The Umbrella Academy incorporated the actor’s own personal transition into Season 3 of the show, which premieres today on Netflix.

“With Steve Blackman, the showrunner of Umbrella,” Page said, “When we first talked about it he seemed really excited about incorporating it into the show.”

The duo brought in some help to make sure the show transitioned Page’s character, who was known as Vanya in the first two seasons, to Viktor, as he becomes known in Season 3, in a respectful and smooth way.

Page told Meyers that they brought on “an incredible writer, journalist, author Thomas Page McBee, who I met doing a miniseries called Tales of the City. He wrote an extraordinary book called Amateur, which I highly recommend everybody to read. He was the first trans man to box in Madison Square Garden. And his...

Murray Bartlett has been acting for 35 years, but it wasn’t until his turn as smiling and spiraling hotel manager Armond in HBO’s “The White Lotus” that Hollywood started buzzing about its new “breakout star.”

“In the last year since ‘White Lotus,’ I’ve had more choice and more work than I’ve ever had,” the Australian actor tells Variety.

The role earned him an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts prize and Critics’ Choice Award, but Bartlett’s career hasn’t always been a smooth journey. “There have been times where I haven’t worked much — sometimes long periods,” he says. “There were times when people told me, ‘You’re getting too old, you’re obviously not going to be super successful.’ And I did second guess myself.”

In fact, he’s endured “existential crises” every four or five years: “I would say, ‘Is this really what I should be doing?...

The very first thing one sees in each episode of the new reboot of “Queer as Folk” — before the action even starts — is the handwritten name of the streamer on which it appears, with an underline jauntily appearing beneath the last four letters of “Peacock.” It’s an elbow to the ribs, or to regions further south, that comes on strong from the earliest moments of the series; do you get it? Do you?

This show, about the lives of queer and trans people in New Orleans, centers that one syllable, and a few similar terms: Like the early-2000s Showtime series that preceded it (itself based on a British drama by Russell T. Davies), “Queer as Folk” 2022 is relentless in its pursuit of pleasure. But that enjoyment, here, often exists for the characters more than for the viewer. “Queer as Folk” has an abrasive, punky insouciance that’s charming,...

This review of “Fire Island” was first published on May 23, 2022.

Jane Austen is cited just seconds into “Fire Island” — and a character later quotes everyone’s favorite “Emma” adaptation, “Clueless” — and this sparkling tale of star-crossed love affairs on a beach vacation treats “romantic” and “comedy” with equal importance. The fact that its entanglements, misunderstandings, and reconciliations occur among an almost entirely all-male cast serves merely to put a new meaning to the “Pride” in “Pride and Prejudice.”

First-time screenwriter Joel Kim Booster establishes a world in which smartphones and written correspondence can co-exist and where two unlikely partners can find each other by virtue of being the only two people for miles around who want to talk about literature. For all the hook-up apps, Charli Xcx remixes, and six-pack abs on display, “Fire Island” is still the kind of movie where arguing about the short fiction of Alice Munro counts as foreplay.

Chicago Fire boss Derek Haas is tipping his hat to former series star Charlie Barnett, who recently opened up about his heartbreaking departure in Season 3.

“I read that article. That was really nice, everything he said about the show,” Haas told Deadline on Monday. “Of course we miss him. He was always such a huge part of our inception. He couldn’t be a nicer guy. We’ve been cheering on his success ever since.”

Added fellow executive producer Andrea Newman: “He was really fun because he was the audience’s eyes in the beginning. We walked into the firehouse with him, so he was a great introduction for this show. We love him.”

Barnett, who portrayed Peter Mills in the firefighter drama, said though at the time it was tough to look beyond the disappointment of being written out, he is now grateful for the experience.

“[The show] was a...

Charlie Barnett reflected on being written out of NBC’s Chicago Fire at the end of Season 3, saying while he was “really sad at the time” it turned out to be a “blessing in disguise.

“[The show] was a behemoth that I never really saw coming. I was thankful to be a part of it,” Barnett, who portrayed Peter Mills, told Digital Spy. “I really was sad to be let go. It broke me for quite a long time.”

He continued, “Yeah. It was a blessing in disguise, and they all told me that. You never really see that in life, in general. You never see the bad moments becoming the good. It wouldn’t be. It wouldn’t be what it was, I think if you did recognize it for what it is in the moment. So I’m thankful.”

Series executive producer Matt Olmstead said at the time the decision...

Exclusive: Four-time Emmy winner Laura Linney got behind the camera for the first time on the back half of Ozark‘s final season, directing the 11th episode of its 14.

The acclaimed drama created for Netflix by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams follows financial advisor Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) and his wife Wendy (Linney), who have dragged their kids Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) and Jonah (Skyler Gaertner) from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where they must launder money to appease a drug boss. Season 4, which returned for its first of two parts on January 21 and wraps up on April 29, finds tensions further escalating as the Byrdes do everything they can to disentangle their family from the cartel, and to stay alive.

Linney co-exec produces the series, which also stars Alfonso Herrera, Jessica Frances Dukes, Lisa Emery, John Bedford Lloyd, Joseph Sikora and more. Chris Mundy served as showrunner, writer, and exec producer of Season 4, with Bateman,...

The CW‘s upcoming Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift has added Marquise Vilsón (Blindspot), April Parker Jones (Supergirl), and Albert Mwangi (Bump) to round out the series-regular cast. Tom Swift was co-created by Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau, and Cameron Johnson and follows the serialized adventures of its titular gay billionaire inventor, played by Tian Richards. After his father’s disappearance, Swift is dragged into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena, where he must stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group that’s determined to stop him. According to Deadline, Vilsón, who has guest-starred in series such as Blindspot and Tales of the City, will play Tom’s bodyguard, Isaac Vega. The character is described as “trans, pansexual, and a consummate badass” who has simmering feelings for Tom but never lets them get in the way of his duties. Meanwhile, Jones, who currently recurs on Peacock’s new drama Bel-Air,...

Exclusive: Marquise Vilsón (Blindspot), April Parker Jones (Supergirl) and Albert Mwangi (Bump) round out the series-regular cast for the CW’s Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift. They join previously announced leads Tian Richards and Ashleigh Murray in the series from Nancy Drew co-creators/executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, their Fake Empire banner and CBS Studios.

Co-created by Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau and Cameron Johnson, Tom Swift follows the serialized adventures of its titular gay billionaire inventor (Richards), who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father. Tom takes to the road on a quest to unravel the truth, leaving behind the comforts of his usual moneyed lifestyle, all while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group that’s hellbent on stopping him. Tom’s missions will require his genius and flair for innovation guided by love,...

Barbara Gordon has officially found her roommate.

Ivory Aquino has been cast in the HBO Max feature film “Batgirl” as Alysia Yeoh, the best friend of the titular superhero, a.k.a. Barbara Gordon (Leslie Grace).

Both Aquino and Yeoh are transgender, marking the first time a live-action feature film adaptation of a DC Comics title will feature an openly trans character. Yeoh first appeared in a 2011 issue of “Batgirl” written by Gail Simone and penciled by Ardian Syaf.

News of Aquino’s casting first leaked online in mid-January after Grace posted a photo seemingly from the set of the film to her Instagram story, tagging Aquino and captioning the shot (of two women crossing the street) with “Barbara and Alysia...

Exclusive: Ivory Aquino has joined the cast of Batgirl, the upcoming superhero film that Bad Boys for Life‘s Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are directing for HBO Max.

Aquino will star alongside previously announced cast members including Leslie Grace, J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Michael Keaton and Jacob Scipio.

Batgirl is based on the DC comics created by writer Gail Simone and artist Ardian Syaf. While specifics with regard to the film’s plot are being kept under wraps, it will center on Gotham City police commissioner Jim Gordon’s (Simmons) daughter, Barbara (Grace). Aquino will play Barbara’s best friend, bartender Alysia Yeoh—the first major transgender character ever to appear in a live-action film adaptation of DC comics.

Fraser is portraying the villain Firefly, as previously announced, with Keaton reprising his role as Batman from Tim Burton’s 1989 film...

Netflix has ordered “Survival of the Thickest,” an eight episode scripted comedy starring stand-up Michelle Buteau.

Based on Buteau’s 2020 essay book of the same name, “Survival of the Thickest” stars Buteau as Mavis Beaumont, a Black, plus-size woman navigating life after she finds herself newly single. The series was created by Buteau and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, who will serve as the showrunner for the series. The series will be executive produced by Ravi Nandan and Alli Reich from A24.

“Survival of the Thickest” follows an overall deal between Sanchez-Witzel and Netflix to develop shows for the streamer. It also continues Buteau’s relationship with the streamer, which includes her original stand-up special “Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia,” hosting duties for reality series “The Circle” and “Barbeque Showdown,” and acting appearances in the original series “Tales of the City” and film “Always Be My Maybe.”

“It’s been so damn amazing finding a home with Netflix,...

The White Lotus star and SAG Award nominee Murray Bartlett has boarded Hulu’s limited series Immigrant, which hails from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel. He joins star and executive producer Kumail Nanjiani.

Written and executive produced by Siegel, Immigrant is the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. The series will detail the insane, darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.

Bartlett joins the series as a series regular and will appear as Nick De Noia. Producer-choreographer Nick De Noia is a charming, fast-talking New Yorker who’s certain he’s God’s gift to entertainment. Just ask him. He is the person responsible for transforming Chippendales from a seedy male strip joint in West LA to the global juggernaut it would one day become. A man of many passions, Nick loves drinking, drugs, women, men–and most of all,...

Murray Bartlett, who starred as Armond in HBO’s “The White Lotus,” will star as producer-choreographer Nick De Noia in “Immigrant,” Hulu’s upcoming limited series about Chippendales founder Somen “Steve” Banerjee.

Written, executive produced and co-showrun by Robert Siegel, the series follows Banerjee’s (Kumail Nanjiani) darkly comedic, crime-ridden journey as an Indian-American immigrant creating what became a wildly popular male revue show.

Nick De Noia is described as a charming, fast-talking New Yorker who sees himself as God’s gift to entertainment. While regularly indulging in his loves of drinking, drugs, women and men, he helped Banerjee take the Chippendales from a seedy West LA venture to the global popularity it eventually reached.

Along with leading “The White Lotus,” Bartlett has starred as Dominic Basaluzzo in HBO’s “Looking” and Michael “Mouse” Tolliver in Netflix’s “Tales of the City.” He is repped by Anonymous Content, Paradigm Talent Agency,...

Exclusive: Deadline has the first exclusive tracks from Jay Wadley’s Swan Song score, which is set for digital release via Lakeshore Records on December 17—the same day that the Apple Original Film premieres in theaters and globally on Apple TV+. Nine instant grat tracks will be available with every preorder.

The first feature from Oscar-winning writer-director Benjamin Cleary is set in the near future and centers on Cameron (Mahershala Ali), a loving husband and father diagnosed with a terminal illness who is presented with an alternative solution by his doctor (Glenn Close) to shield his family from grief. As Cam grapples with whether or not to alter his family’s fate, he ends up learning more about life and love than he ever imagined he would.

For the film marking his first collaboration with Cleary, Wadley looked to evoke deeply felt emotions, maintaining at the same time a sense of space and minimalism.

Exclusive: Nat Faxon, Kevin Dunn, Marquise Vilsón, Marinda Anderson, Don Fanelli and Nancy Lenehan are set for major recurring roles opposite lead Abbi Jacobson in Amazon’s A League of Their Own, a reimagining of Penny Marshall’s 1992 film, from co-creators Jacobson (Broad City) and Will Graham (Mozart in the Jungle) and Sony Pictures TV.

The hourlong series, described as a fresh approach to Marshall’s classic about the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, will follow new characters who embody the spirit of a generation of women who dreamed to play professional baseball. “The show takes a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the league and outside of it,” according to the streamer.

Faxon will play Marshall, the Rockford Peaches’ team manager who works for league owner...

Exclusive: Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken), Emerson Brooks (The Last Ship) and Brooks Ashmanskas (The Good Lord Bird) are set as series regulars opposite Neil Patrick Harris in Uncoupled, Netflix’s new comedy series created and executive produced by Younger and Emily in Paris creator/executive producer Darren Star and longtime Modern Family executive producer Jeffrey Richman. Additionally, Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden and Desperate Housewives alum Tuc Watkins will recur in the high-profile show from MTV Entertainment Studios and Jax Media.

Uncoupled centers on Michael (Harris), who thought his life was perfect until his husband blindsides him by walking out the door after 17 years. Overnight, Michael has to confront two nightmares — losing what he thought was his soulmate and suddenly finding himself a single gay man in his mid-40s in New York City.

Campbell will play Suzanne, an expensively put-together high-powered real estate agent who is Michael Lawson’s business partner and loyal friend.

Billy Eichner’s landmark romantic comedy “Bros” has added a new crop of actors to its ensemble cast. All principals in the Universal Pictures project are LGBTQ+.

New additions include Academy Award-winning actor-writer Jim Rash, Eve Lindley, D’Lo Srijaerajah, Peter Kim, Justin Covington, Dot-Marie Jones and Becca Blackwell.

The cast reflects a broad range of comedic talent and was built to expand and diversify queer representation on screen. The film is produced by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller, who is also directing. Eichner stars with the previously announced Luke Macfarlane, Ts Madison, Miss Lawrence, Symone, Guillermo Diaz and Guy Branum.

“After queer actors have spent decades watching straight actors capitalize both artistically and professionally by playing LGBTQ+ characters, it is a long overdue dream come true to be able to assemble this remarkable, hilarious cast,” Eichner previously said of the film.

The film is described as a “heartfelt comedy...

Elliot Page has inked a first-look deal with UCP to develop scripted and unscripted projects across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms for the Universal Studio Group division.

“I’ve always had great experiences working with UCP,” the Academy Award nominee said in a statement announcing the deal. “Beatrice and the rest of the leadership team support my desire to tell compelling and authentic stories from historically marginalized perspectives — stories that are desperately needed at this moment in time. I’m honored to continue my relationship with UCP in this capacity and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Page stars in “The Umbrella Academy,” a UCP and Netflix collaboration that has gone on to receive four Emmy nominations across various categories and was greenlit for a Season 3 return. It follows a disbanded group of superheroes who reunite after their adoptive father dies.

“Elliot Page is a changemaker in film and television,...

Exclusive: Elliot Page has signed a first-look deal with UCP to develop scripted and unscripted projects across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.

The pact, which was competitive, expands the Oscar-nominated actor’s relationship with UCP, run by President Beatrice Springborn. Page stars in the studio’s hit Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. The drama, which follows a disbanded group of superheroes who reunite after their adoptive father dies, is headed into its third season and recently received four Emmy nominations.

“I’ve always had great experiences working with UCP,” said Page. “Beatrice and the rest of the leadership team support my desire to tell compelling and authentic stories from historically marginalized perspectives – stories that are desperately needed at this moment in time. I’m honored to continue my relationship with UCP in this capacity and I can’t wait to get to work.”

In addition to Page’s extensive acting resume,...

US producer Alan Poul will be the industry guest speaker for this month’s CinefestOZ Industry Program.

Poul’s producing and directing credits include Netflix’s The Eddy, and Tales of the City, BBC’s MotherFatherSon, as well as HBO’s Westworld, The Newsroom, and Six Feet Under.

He has also directed episodes of HBO’s Rome, and Big Love, as well as Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, and the pilots for the TNT series Perception.

The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning producer is in the midst of executive producing the upcoming HBO Max series Tokyo Vice at Endeavour Content, where his company Boku Films is based.

Poul, whose appearance will be presented via the American Film Showcase, will be joined by local, national, and international guests in the two-day program, which incorporates 10 sessions across August 26-27.

Available online and in-person, the discussions are set to address the contemporary challenges faced...

Network: Netflix.

Episodes: 10 (hour).

Seasons: One.

TV show dates: June 7, 2019.

Series status: Ended.

Performers include:   Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Barbara Garrick, Paul Gross, Ellen Page, Murray Bartlett, Charlie Barnett, Josiah Victoria Garcia, May Hong, Jen Richards, Daniela Vega , Michelle Buteau, Ashley Park, Christopher Larkin, Caldwell Tidicue, Matthew Risch, Michael Park, Dickie Hearts, Benjamin Thys, Samantha Soule, and Juan Castano.

TV show description:

From executive producer Lauren Morelli, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City TV show is a Netflix revival of previous mini-series based on Maupin's book series. The 1993 original mini-series ran on UK Channel 4 and on PBS. In 1998, Channel 4 and Showtime produced the sequel More Tales of the City. In 2001,...