Amazon MGM Studios Inks Exclusive Overall Deal With Gaz Alazraki’s Maquina Vega

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios‘ crime thriller Play Dirty has four new additions: Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka), Nat Wolff (Which Brings Me to You), Chukwudi Iwuji (The Day of the Jackal), and Thomas Jane (Troppo).

EXCLUSIVE: Zooey Deschanel has signed on to star in Merv, a romantic comedy that Jessica Swale will direct for Amazon MGM Studios.

Wondery and Campside Media, the company behind the successful Chameleon franchise, are expanding their relationship with an exclusive audio first-look deal for a multi-project slate. Under the pact, Wondery and Campside will produce Limited Series podcasts, including non-English language titles, to be distributed by Wondery globally, with the first being a German-language series currently in production.

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson have locked deals to return for The Accountant 2, the sequel to the Gavin O’Connor-directed action thriller The Accountant, on which Amazon MGM Studios has teamed with Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity.

A+E Networks has signed a development deal with Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine for lifestyle series which will air as part of A+E’s Home.Made.Nation multi-platform content hub. The first series from the partnership will be Country House Hunters, a co-production between Hello Sunshine and Abode Entertainment, which will premiere in the summer of 2024 on A&E.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Paramount Animation has entered an exclusive, multi-year first-look development deal with writer, director and producer Jeff Rowe.  The pact extends the relationship between the studio and the filmmaker following the success of last summer’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which Rowe directed and co-wrote. The agreement covers Rowe’s development and directing services, as well as his producing and executive producing work, on both animated and live-action projects.

Thania Garcia Raphael Saadiq has signed with Tyler Childs at Forward Artist Management, the management company announced Monday. The Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated producer and singer-songwriter is a member of the American soul/R&B band, Tony! Toni! Toné!, with whom he recently went on tour for the first time in 25 years. Saadiq co-wrote and produced both of Beyoncé’s latest country singles, “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the latter of which is currently the No.

EXCLUSIVE: Priyanka Chopra Jonas is set to star in The Bluff, the AGBO Studios and Amazon MGM Studios movie being directed by Frank E. Flowers. Prime Video’s The Boys Karl Urbanis in talks to star.

Angelique Jackson Tyler Perry has wrapped production on the third movie in his four-picture deal with Amazon MGM Studios, a drama led by “P-Valley” and “Mea Culpa” star Shannon Thornton and “Run The World’s” Tosin Morohunfola. Perry wrote, directed and produced the film, which recently wrapped filming on location in Colorado and at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta under the working title “Joy Ridge.” “Amidst the picturesque landscapes of Colorado, Joy (Thornton) finds herself on a holiday trip with a man she envisions as ‘the one,” the film’s official logline reads.

The Rings of Power showrunners, Patrick McKay and JD Payne, are staying in business with Amazon MGM Studios. The duo have signed a new exclusive overall deal with the studio, and have launched their own prodco, 10:40 PM Productions.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM’s Eddie Murphy heist comedy The Pickup has four new additions: Eva Longoria (Land of Women), Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Jack Kesy (Hellboy: The Crooked Man), and Marshawn Lynch (Bottoms).

EXCLUSIVE: There is a hot bidding war heating up for Mattel’s animated take of Bob the Builder with heavy interest from Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios, and DreamWorks Animation and others. We hear that offers have been made, and that no one is merely circling for this animated feature which speaks greatly to the Latino and Hispanic community.

EXCLUSIVE: America Ferrera‘s hot streak continues, as the Barbie Oscar nom has been set to executive produce and star in Naked by the Window, a series adaptation of the book by Robert Katz, which has landed at Amazon MGM Studios for development following a bidding war.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios is opening their $15M Sundance pick-up, My Old Ass, on Aug. 2 in a limited rollout.

True Detective is coming back for a fifth season at HBO.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “True Detective” has been renewed for Season 5 at HBO. Issa López, the creator of “True Detective: Night Country,” will helm the fifth season under her new overall deal with HBO. The renewal comes as little surprise, given the success of “Night Country,” which saw Jodie Foster and Kali Reis star in the fourth installment of the HBO anthology series.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Piper Perabo has been cast in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video spy series “Butterfly,” Variety has learned exclusively. Perabo joins previously announced series lead Daniel Dae Kim in the series along with cast members Reina Hardesty, Park Hae-soo, Kim Tae-hee, and Nayoon Kim.

EXCLUSIVE: Craig Mazin, co-creator, writer, director and executive producer of HBO‘s breakout new drama series The Last Of Us, has re-upped his exclusive television deal with the network and sibling streamer Max for an additional four years.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran film and television producers Sean and Bryan Furst have signed a multi-project development deal with Miramax TV via their Global Position Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin, Schmigadoon!) has joined the cast of NBC‘s Lopez vs. Lopez for Season 2 in a recurring role that highlights both his acting and musical skills.