Showrunner Trey Callaway Signs With Independent Artist Group, Echo Lake Entertainment

EXCLUSIVE: Emerging Irish comedian Kyla Cobbler has signed with UK agency Host Talent Group.

EXCLUSIVE: Ayesha Harris has signed with Innovative Artists for representation.

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed Robert O’Hara, the New York-based playwright and director of Jeremy O. Harris’ Tony-nominated Slave Play.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Chef and content creator Nick DiGiovanni has signed with WME for representation in all areas, Variety has learned exclusively. He continues to be represented by Align PR and Yorn Levine Barnes. DiGiovanni rose to fame when he became the youngest-ever finalist on the cooking competition series “MasterChef” in 2019 during the show’s tenth season.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Award winning playwright and screenwriter Itamar Moses has signed with Grandview for management. Itamar’s play The Ally recently premiered at The Public Theater, directed by Lila Neugebauer and starring Josh Radnor. His new musical Dead Outlaw ran simultaneously off-Broadway with Audible Theater at the Minetta Lane.

EXCLUSIVE: Terrence Terrell (Giants, Obliterated) has signed with Ascend Artists Representation.

EXCLUSIVE: Milo Ventimiglia, star of This is Us and Heroes, has new representation.

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Catlin has signed with CAA for representation. 

James Blake has revealed that he’s now an independent artist, sharing the news on his Instagram account today (April 10).The artist shared a video alongside his post, which you can watch below. In the video, Blake said “it feels good to be independent because I’ve wanted to take things into my own hands for a long time” and said he was looking forward to working more “directly” with his fans.Blake signed with A&M Records to release his self-titled debut album in 2011 before departing to sign to Republic Records, releasing his second album, ‘Overgrown’ in 2013 followed by subsequent albumns, ‘The Colour In Anything’ (2016), ‘Assume Form’ (2019), ‘Friends That Break Your Heart’ (2021) and ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’ (2023).Blake wrote in the caption to the video: “After over a decade on a label it feels scary to go independent but here we are.

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Payne, the British actor who starred in Fox drama series Prodigal Son, has new representation.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Fresh off his win at WrestleMania 40, WWE star Damian Priest has signed with Paradigm for representation in all areas, Variety has learned exclusively. Paradigm will work to build his business across books, acting, marketing, unscripted and more. Priest, who was born Luis Berrios (Martinez), most recently won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship during Night 2 of WrestleMania 40 by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract against Drew McIntire, who himself had just won the championship from Seth Rollins.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mortal Media, the film and TV production company co-founded by Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil, has signed with WME for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. WME will rep Mortal Media’s scripted and unscripted slate, while also helping the company expand into brand partnerships and creative marketing services. In addition, Griffin has signed with WME for off-court representation.

Veteran character actor J.C. Mackenzie has signed with Artists & Representatives for representation.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed stand-up comedian, actor, and creator Frankie Quiñones (This Fool) for representation in all areas.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Heatseeking filmmaker Olmo Schnabel has signed for representation with WME, and with Black Bear for management. Schnabel’s breakout directorial effort “Pet Shop Days” played both the Venice International Film Festival and SXSW this cycle, scoring distribution from Utopia for a 2024 theatrical release. Starring Darío Yazbek Bernal, Willem Dafoe and Peter Sarsgaard, the film tells of a drug lord scion on the run from his powerful family.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Lucius has signed with Fantasy Records for future album releases, including the first to come down the chute in the deal, an all-new re-recording of the group’s seminal “Wildewoman” album. Set for release May 31, “Wildewoman (The New Recording)” will include 12-13 freshly recorded tracks, including songs with featured appearances by Brandi Carlile, Marcus Mumford and Devon Gilfillian.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Patrick Whitesell, executive chairman of WME parent Endeavor, is launching a new media company backed by Silver Lake as part of the private-equity firm’s deal to take Endeavor private. Silver Lake will invest $250 million of seed equity into a new business to be founded, managed and controlled by Whitesell, according to an Endeavor SEC filing Wednesday.

SHINee singer Onew has signed with Griffin Entertainment, just a month after leaving longtime agency SM Entertainment. Griffin Entertainment announced that SHINee’s Onew had signed with the company today (April 3) in a statement to South Korea news outlet Sports Kyunghang. “We are happy to be together with Onew on his new start,” the agency said, as translated by Soompi.“Griffin Entertainment will not spare any effort so that we can become the artist’s sanctuary,” the label added.

Katcy Stephan Filmmaker Caroline Lindy has signed with CAA, Variety can exclusively reveal. Lindy is the writer and director of the romantic-comedy horror film “Your Monster,” which debuted in the Midnight section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Lindy previously directed the short films “Kindred Spirit” and “Aspirational Slut,” the latter of which was awarded the Audience Award at the 2022 SXSW and Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

SHINee singer Taemin has officially signed with Big Planet Made, shortly after leaving longtime agency SM Entertainment.Big Planet Made announced today (April 1) in a statement to South Korean outlet Star News that the company has “signed an exclusive contract with singer Taemin, who is unparalleled in his activities both as SHINee’s main dancer and as a solo artist”, per Soompi. “We will actively support Taemin’s wide range of activities in his music career, and we will do our utmost so that he can soar in broader places and in a variety of directions.