Cedric the Entertainer to Produce New Series ‘Finding Happy’ for Bounce TV (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Diablo Cody (Juno) has boarded Jenny Mollen’s City of Likes as executive producer of the series adaptation, which is in development with Sony Pictures TV and The Nacelle Company. Announced in 2021, the project falls under Nacelle’s first look comedy deal with Sony TV. The book will be released by NacelleBooks on June 14.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “She-Ra” live-action series in development at Amazon has brought on Nicole Kassell to direct, Variety has learned exclusively.Variety previously reported that the show was in early development at the streamer in September 2021. Kassell will direct and executive produce the pilot episode should it go forward.

Starz has given the greenlight to a new series from “Vida” creator Tanya Saracho.“Lovesong,” which is currently in development, is a half-hour drama that will follow two Mexican American childhood friends living in London as they both become entangled in a torturous love-triangle with the same captivating singer-songwriter. A love story born out of betrayal and paid for with the cost of friendship. “Steeped in the East London music scene, the series embarks on a cinematic contemplation of love, sex, identity, purpose and the price of happiness,” a description for the series reads.“This story is very much a child of the pandemic, born from those times when we were yearning for love stories to soothe the soul and light the way through the dark times.

EXCLUSIVE: UK management firm YMU is launching a U.S. entertainment division under the leadership of former UTA agent April Tombs.

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Hans Canosa’s film, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, from international sales agent Mister Smith Entertainment. Currently in post-production, the film is slated for release in theaters this fall.

FX has its summer plans. The network today revealed premiere dates for eight new or returning series including the debut of Jeff Bridges-led drama The Old Man, new Hulu comedy The Bear and Ryan Reynolds docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, along with fresh seasons of What We Do in the Shadows, Reservation Dogs and American Horror Stories. 

EXCLUSIVE: Producer and bestselling author DeVon Franklin has found his first major film role in Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s Jesus Revolution. He joins an ensemble that also includes Kelsey Grammer, Joel Courtney, Anna Grace Barlow, Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ally Ioannides, Julia Campbell, Nic Bishop and Jolie Jenkins, as previously announced.

Sasha Urban editorMost Angelenos know the Billboard Queen, Angelyne. The enigmatic human Barbie, self-described as a “Rorschach test in pink,” has been a mainstay of Los Angeles culture ever since billboards bearing her face and name began popping up throughout the city in 1984.

Christopher Keyser The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund) has been there for everyone on stage, on camera and behind the scenes since 1882. This national human services organization has proven an essential resource for people who work in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance.The Entertainment Community Fund has offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago; an assisted living and skilled nursing home in Englewood, N.J.; and supportive housing residences in Brooklyn and Manhattan, N.Y., and West Hollywood, Calif.Joe Benincasa, president and CEO of the Fund, oversees the organization’s comprehensive supportive services, including health and wellness, career and life, affordable housing and more.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAfter 140 years, the Actors Fund is getting a new name. The charitable organization will rebrand itself as the Entertainment Community Fund, which it says better reflects the work that it does to help industry professionals from a vast array of jobs and disciplines.“One of the challenges we have always faced is that we are not just for actors, we are here to work with everybody in show business,” says Tony Award-winning actor and Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS:  Since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020, The Actors Fund, the 140-year-old organization that offers emergency financial assistance and other support service to workers in the the performing arts industries, has distributed more than $26.8 million in emergency financial assistance – rent, groceries, medicine, health insurance premiums -.to about 17,900 individuals. The pandemic-era distribution represents more than 13 times the amount of assistance typically provided by the Fund in an average year.

Kenny Nguyen of ThreeSixtyEight has signed up to Executive Produce drama film Scent Of The Delta. The film is a 2020 Sundance Film Institute script semifinalist, written by Thuc Doan Nguyen and directed by Adele Pham (Nailed It). The film addresses Vietnamese culture and growing up in the American South in the 1980s.

Stray Kids have added three more shows to their sold-out North American tour.Today (May 5), the K-pop boyband announced they would be bringing the North American leg of their ‘Maniac’ world tour to Anaheim, California along with an additional night for Seattle, Washington.This comes after Stray Kids sold out all seven of their original stops across the United States. Late last month, the boyband had also announced additional nights to their gigs in Newark, New Jersey and Los Angeles, California, all of which are also now sold out.Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈) 2nd World Tour "MANIAC" in North AmericaAdditional Show InfoTicket Open 2022.05.09 (MON) 3PM (Local Time)https://t.co/JjF0JwYkr7#StrayKids #스트레이키즈#2ndWorldTour_MANIAC#ODDINARY#MANIAC #MANIAC_SKZ#YouMakeStrayKidsStay pic.twitter.com/VP0L6W1q46— Stray Kids (@Stray_Kids) May 4, 2022Tickets for the three new Stray Kids shows will go on sale on Ticketmaster at 3pm on Monday (May 9) in the respective cities’ local time.

Former Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown (aka Mel B ) have hung up their microphones to take part in the latest series of Netflix smash hit The Circle USA. As part of the show, the pop legends will be appearing in the streaming platform’s popular reality show as catfishes, tasked with catching out contestants who are all vying for a grand prize of $150,000 (£120,000).

Angelique Jackson Issa Rae has been tapped to serve as the ambassador for the 2022 American Black Film Festival (ABFF), and she’s bringing a special treat to Miami Beach. Rae will screen her highly anticipated HBO Max series “Rap Sh*t” for the festival’s closing night.“I’m honored to be this year’s Festival Ambassador,” said Rae, announcing her participation.

It looks like Katie Holmes has a new man in her life!

EXCLUSIVE: Writer, director, and award-winning journalist Julian Rubinstein’s highly anticipated anti-gang war documentary, The Holly  has tapped Academy Award-winning filmmaker and Hyperobject Industries founder, Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up) and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Todd Schulman (Borat) as executive producers ahead of its world premiere at Telluride’s this Memorial Day weekend.