African Streamer Showmax Readies Ghanian Drama Series ‘The Billionaire’s Wife’

Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos are high fashion. The couple enjoyed the Versace fashion show on Thursday, where they sat in the front row.Versace held its fall 2023 fashion show at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, and it was a star-studded affair.

Manchester United reportedly face competition from several sides for Napoli ace Victor Osimhen, with the Reds keen to sign the frontman in the upcoming transfer window.

BreAnna Bell Hulu Originals has ordered three unscripted series “Love in Fairhope,” “Royal Rules of Ohio,” and “Secrets & Sisterhood: The Sozahdahs.” “Love in Fairhope” is a reality TV romantic drama set in the small town of Fairhope, Alabama. It follows the lives of five generations of women. “In this community, everyone knows everyone else’s business, but no one knows where hopelessly romantic dreams, passions and inspiration will take them all,” reads the official logline. Reese Witherspoon executive produces alongside Sara Rea, Alex Baskin, Lauren Weber, Brian McCarthy, Joe Kingsley, and Benton Bohannon. Evolution Media, Hello Sunshine, and Tremont Road are the studios behind the production.

Hulu Originals has ordered the unscripted series Love in Fairhope, Royal Rules of Ohio, and Secrets & Sisterhood: The Sozahdahs.

EXCLUSIVE: Principal photography has wrapped on Following Harry, a documentary that offers an inside view of 96-year-old civil rights icon Harry Belafonte’s continuing mission of social justice. The film directed and edited by Susanne Rostock is being readied for premiere at fall film festivals.

Charna Flam Jonathan Majors and Michael B. Jordan are busy promoting “Creed III,” but the pair are hoping to work together again soon. In “Creed III,” Jordan returns as Adonis Creed and stars opposite Majors, who portrays new antagonist, Damian Anderson. Ahead of the March 3 premiere, the two sat down with the New York Times to discuss the film, their individual careers and how they intend to continue to partner for future projects.  In his directorial debut, Jordan placed immense pressure on himself, which trickled down to his preparation in pitching Majors for the role. “I was all in my head, like, ‘OK, what are the things I would want to hear? This dude can do a million different things right now. What’s going to make him take a chance on this actor-director who hasn’t directed [anything]?’” revealed Jordan.

Thinus Ferreira Guest Contributor In the chase for scale in streaming, it’s the technology behind NBCUniversal’s Peacock that could be the saving grace for African SVOD service Showmax. Pan-African pay-TV operator MultiChoice revealed on Thursday that it will be relaunching its regional streamer Showmax with Peacock technology. NBCUniversal and the U.K.’s Sky will take a 30% share in a new company that will redevelop and overhaul Showmax for African audiences. Launched in 2015, Showmax has been feeling the intense pressure of lower-priced global streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ scooping up subscribers across the African market. (HBO Max is yet to launch and Paramount is still working on a Paramount+ rollout for the continent.)

BreAnna Bell SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Season 6, Episode 3 of “Snowfall.” With the Saint family at odds, chaos and killings run rampant throughout L.A. in the sixth and final season of “Snowfall” on FX. But even amidst the turmoil of a drug war, Leon (Isaiah John) and Wanda (Gail Bean) were able to have their moment in the sun. Episode 3 titled, “Door of No Return” opens to find Leon wearing an unusual getup that strays from his typical white t-shirt and dickies as he walks the streets of Ghana with Wanda with a haunting question that looms over their heads. (Fans may remember Season 5 left off with the two deciding to run away together to Africa). Do they leave their overseas sanctuary to go back to their home that’s essentially a war zone — or do they stay and build a new life for themselves without the harm of the past holding them down?

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Nic Pizzolatto has set up a western drama series at Amazon with a series commitment, Variety has confirmed with sources. The untitled series is said to “revolve around a former outlaw who must reckon with a threat from his past in order to keep the life and family he has worked so hard to build,” according to sources. Amazon declined to comment. Pizzolatto is best known for creating the HBO anthology drama series “True Detective,” which exploded onto the scene in 2014 with a first season starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson that received substantial critical and popular acclaim. Two more seasons have aired to date, with a fourth season starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis on the way. Issa López is writing Season 4 with Pizzolatto attached as an executive producer.

It’s offiicial. Starz has picked up the 10-episode drama series Three Women, starring Shailene Woodley, following its release by Showtime. As we previously reported, the premium cabler had been in negotiations to pick up the series, adapted by Lisa Taddeo from her nonfiction bestseller of the same name.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International British media editor Juliana Koranteng, a well-respected freelancer in the U.K. journalism community and the founder of JayKay Media Consultancy, has died. She was 64. The Broadcasting Press Guild, of which Koranteng was a member, confirmed on Wednesday that Koranteng died in February following a short illness. “Juliana regularly attended our lunches and breakfasts – most recently, the Kevin Lygo lunch in December 2022 – and lit them up with her shining presence and well-informed questions,” said the BPG in a statement on Wednesday. BPG chair Grant Tucker added: “We had a lovely catch up at the Christmas lunch in December. She was always such a bright personality at every BPG event I attended. She will be much missed.”

Manchester United have made contact with Mohammed Kudus and the Ajax star would be keen on reuniting with Erik ten Hag, according to reports.

Angelique Jackson The eighth annual Icon Mann Honors dinner will salute “The Woman King” filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, “Sidney” director Reginald Hudlin and Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of the Africa Center NYC and author of the New York Times bestseller “Beasts of No Nation.” Icon Mann partnered with Sony Pictures for the event, which has a “Reimagining African Diasporic Narratives” theme and will take place on Wednesday, March 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, Calif. The dinner is part of a series of awards week events for Icon Mann, which is a media, production and management consultancy representing African Diasporic heritage. The company is a leading strategic broker for investments and enterprise within creative industries for Hollywood and media-driven African nations, cultivating a global network of creators and leaders focused on “positive narrative representation.”

EXCLUSIVE: Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay Ryan are set to lead Scrublands, a TV adaptation of Chris Hammer’s novel for Australian streamer Stan.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Apple has given a series order to the drama “The Last Frontier” with Jason Clarke set to play the lead role, Variety has learned. The series hails from creators Jon Bokenkamp, who previously created the hit NBC series “The Blacklist,” and Richard D’Ovidio, who previously worked with Bokenkamp on the 2013 film “The Call” as well as on “The Blacklist” and “The Blacklist: Redemption.” In the 10-episode series, Clarke will star as US Marshal Frank Remnick, the lone Marshal in the barrens of Alaska. Per the official logline, “Frank’ s jurisdiction is turned upside-down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates. Tasked with protecting the town he’s vowed to keep safe, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident, but the first step of a well-crafted plan with international political implications.”

Apple Studios has greenlit the new original drama series The Last Frontier from Jon Bokenkamp (The Blacklist) and Richard D’Ovidio (The Call) with Jason Clarke (Winning Time, Zero Dark Thirty ) set to lead.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is set to star opposite Ewan McGregor in Showtime and Paramount+’s upcoming limited series A Gentleman in Moscow, an adaptation of Amor Towles’ bestselling novel.

Jadon Sancho is back with a bang for Manchester United and has the platform to become the "superstar" that former Liverpool favourite Jamie Carragher predicted upon his arrival.

Christopher Vourlias Croatian-Ukrainian crime drama “The Silence,” whose first season sold wide last year for Munich-based Beta Film, is heading to Kyiv for Season 2, Variety can reveal. The series is based on the critically acclaimed fact-based books by investigative journalist Drago Hedl that examine human and weapons trafficking throughout Eastern Europe. The first season spent 25 days shooting in the Ukrainian capital. Season 2 will return for three days and be directed remotely, due to the security risk, but will shoot several scenes featuring key Ukrainian cast, including star Kseniya Mishina, as well as some establishing shots. Production in Kyiv is due to wrap Feb. 25.

Marcel Sabitzer was keen to praise Manchester United teammate Jadon Sancho after the England international scored in the Premier League win over Leicester City on Sunday.