Elizabeth Vargas Hopes NewsNation Debut Adds New Choice for Evening-News Viewers

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Corp. has put increasing amounts of money behind news and sports in recent years. But that doesn’t mean the company is completely free of drama. A landmark $787.5 million settlement made Tuesday between Fox and the voting-technology company Dominion Voting Systems does not end what is likely to be a period of tumult for the owner of Fox News Channel and the Fox broadcasting network. The payment to Dominion to keep an explosive investigation into how Fox News disseminated conspiracy theories related to the 2020 presidential election out of the public sphere does nothing to alleviate another wave of scrutiny likely to come from another, similar lawsuit.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Kate Bolduan’s next shift on CNN hasn’t started quite yet, but she’s acting as If it has. A group of cameras is flocking around the news anchor in a New York studio that has recently been updated, and she presses producers to let her rehearse a story she needs to have mastered by the time she gets on air. “We don’t want to get this half right,” she tells those listening to her. Neither does the news network. Bolduan and five of her on-air colleagues, along with dozens of crew members and producers working in New York, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, are taking part in a major TV-news experiment that is going to play out each weekday for the foreseeable future at CNN. The question the Warner Bros. Discovery network is trying to solve: How to keep viewers watching TV news when they have video alternatives that are often faster paced, less formal and fueled by social media?

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Elijah Wood is “fascinated” and “surprised” over Warner Bros. developing multiple new “Lord of the Rings” movies. The studio announced the plan in February. Wood, of course, played the hobbit Frodo in Peter Jackson’s original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which grossed $2.9 billion worldwide and remains one of cinema’s greatest fantasy achievements. “I’m fascinated and I’m excited. I hope it’s good,” Wood recently told GQ magazine about the new films. “I’m surprised—I don’t know why I’m surprised because, of course there would be more movies.” “Obviously at the core of that, is a desire to make a lot of money,” Wood continued. “It’s not that a bunch of executives are like, ‘Let’s make really awesome art.’ And, again, not begrudging anybody because, of course, it is commerce. But great art can come from commerce. So those two things are not mutually exclusive.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Season 6 of Canadian cop show “Hudson & Rex,” one of the world’s most successful television brands, has been given the greenlight. The new season has been added to the sales slate of Beta Film at next week’s MipTV television conference and market in Cannes. The canine star of the police procedural, German Shepherd Diesel, who plays Rex, will walk the pink carpet on Sunday at TV series festival Canneseries, which runs in parallel with MipTV. He will be joined by John Reardon, who plays detective Charlie Hudson. The crime fighting duo are presenting the French premiere of the first episode of Season 4, followed by a Q&A with the talent.

K.J. Yossman Jamie Dornan starrer “The Tourist” has gone into production on Season 2 in Dublin, Ireland with Dornan reprising his role as an amnesia-afflicted car crash victim struggling to piece together his past. Danielle Macdonald also returns for Season 2 as Helen Chambers, a probationary constable trying to help Dornan regain his memories while Greg Larsen reprises his role as Ethan Krum. Joining Dornan, Macdonald and Larsen for the second season are Conor MacNeill (“The Fall”), Olwen Fouéré (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), Francis Magee (“Justice League”), Mark McKenna (“Sing Street”), Diarmaid Murtagh (“Vikings”), and Nessa Matthews (“Neon”).

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Kim Granito, an executive who has been with AMC Networks for more than a decade, has been appointed head of marketing at the media company, replacing veteran Len Fogge, who intends to retire next month. Granito, who has been executive vice president of integrated marketing at the company, has been at the helm of a range of interesting projects over the years, including an e-commerce venture built around its “Interview With The Vampire” series, as well as broader branded content initiatives that utilize intellectual property from various programs affiliated with AMC cable and streaming properties.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Brandi Carlile has been added as a participant in the NAMM Show in Anaheim, Calif. Thursday, where she will be interviewed about the insights she has gleaned into record production over her career. The biggest annual conference for musicians is taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center Thursday through Saturday. Her session, “Brandi Carlile on Producing and Uncovering the Artist in the Studio,” will take place Thursday from 1-1:50 p.m. and will have the singer-songwriter-producer being interviewed by producer/engineer/mixer Dave Way, who has worked on Fiona Apple’s “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” and “Extraordinary Machine” as well as albums by Ringo Starr, Pink and others.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor As Fox Corp. prepares to fight a looming and high-profile defamation case, it has agreed to settle another. The company, which owns Fox News, has reached a confidential agreement to resolve a defamation case levied against it by Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil that alleged Fox News and former host Lou Dobbs had harmed Khalil’s reputation by stating he and three others developed programs and machines to rig the 2020 presidential election. “This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides. We have no further comment,” Fox News said in a statement after being contacted by Variety. A letter filed Saturday to Judge Louis L. Stanton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York informed authorities that the parties in the case “have reached a confidential agreement to resolve this matter. The parties anticipate filing a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice early next week.”

won the Best Small Festival award at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, will return to Brockwell Park in south London on Saturday, May 27. Tickets are on sale now – you can buy yours here.Last November, it was confirmed that Caroline Polachek will headline this year’s Wide Awake.

Mura Masa has shared the video for his new single ‘Whenever I Want’ – ahead of a string of upcoming North American tour dates.The producer, also known as Alex Crossan, shared that ‘Whenever I Want’ draws inspiration from junglism, Jersey club and breakcore to create his unique eclectic sound. The track marks the continuation of his club-oriented era that will see him explore the full spectrum of electronic music with releases on his own new label, Pond Recordings.The video for the track features club-goers spinning around and dancing to the song’s high-energy beat.

Elizabeth Vargas spent more than 20 years at ABC News, including stints co-anchoring World News Tonight, hosting 20/20 and news anchoring Good Morning America.

More than 81,000 people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance received an extra payment for £245.70 in December 2022 as part of a unique benefit only available in Scotland. Carer’s Allowance Supplement is a devolved payment delivered twice each year to eligible claimants.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dominion Voting Systems’ whopping $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox Corporation and Fox News is cleared to go to trial, despite the media company’s efforts. Barring a settlement or other unforeseen circumstances, the voting technology company will get to have its attorneys grill Fox News anchors and Fox Corp. executives, Judge Eric M. Davis of Superior Court in State of Delaware ruled in a filing on Friday. “The Court will allow this civil action to go to trial,” Davis said Friday. At issue in the case are damages Dominion alleges it is owed after Fox News aired false claims about its actions and influence on the 2020 election. It is the second legal proceeding made against Fox News for its coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 race for the White House. Smartmatic, a separate voting technology company, has filed a massive $2.7 billion suit against Fox News. Both suits allege that Fox News falsely claimed the companies had rigged the election, repeated items about the matter and then refused to engage in efforts to set the record straight. The 2020 election was not fixed and its results were certified by multiple legal processes.

Coronation Street star Mollie Gallagher has undergone another dramatic transformation after asking for her fans' advice. Arriving on the cobbles back in 2019, viewers of the ITV soap were used to seeing Nina Lucas with jet black hair as she proudly went against the grain with her gothic look.

With the King’s big day set to take place on 6 May, Dr. George Gross, a visiting research fellow in Theology at King’s College London, has identified two “real messages” behind the Queen Consort's choice not to commission a new crown for her Coronation.

CNN News Central, the network’s new daytime programming blocks, will begin its roll out next week.

, and boy, did he put a ring on it—her is an emerald cut diamond on a gold band, designed by NYC jeweler Alison Lou.Okay, so maybe not all of Jennifer Lawrence's accessories are relatable…By Emily TannenbaumBy Kathleen WalshBy Elizabeth LoganBy Emily TannenbaumMore from GlamourSee More Stories© 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved.

Broadway stars and Tony-nominated actors Phillipa Soo and Jeremy Jordan both have new movies coming out soon!

Jonathan Majors was arrested in New York City on Saturday, March 25 for allegedly assaulting a woman. The charges against Majors included strangulation and harassment.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox News cut ties with Abby Grossberg Friday, Variety has learned, after the booker and producer for such hosts as Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo alleged in court filings earlier this week that she was coerced by executives into providing misleading testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation suit that Dominion Voting Systems has levied against the Fox Corp.-backed outlet. Grossberg, who had worked as a senior booking producer for Bartiromo and head of booking for Carlson, alleged in filings in Delaware Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Fox attorneys worked to “coach, manipulate, and coerce Ms. Grossberg to deliver shaded and/or incomplete answers during her sworn deposition testimony, which answers were clearly to her reputational detriment but greatly benefitted Fox News,” according to her Delaware lawsuit.