Continental Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “House of the Dragon” Season 2 will debut on HBO in June. Warner Bros. Discovery streaming and gaming chief J.B.

Jordan Moreau Netflix’s fantasy series “The Witcher” will end with Season 5, the streamer announced Thursday morning. It also confirmed that Season 4 is now in production.

Aramide Tinubu When pondering the Revolutionary War, specific inflection points come to mind. The Boston Massacre of 1770, Paul Revere’s midnight warning in 1775 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 are often the main topics of conversation. However, much more went on during the nearly two-decade-long battle that led to the 13 colonies’ independence from England.

Callum McLennan Comedy docuseries “The World’s Strangest Jobs,” from Johannesburg-based Mannequin Pictures, one of South Africa’s key production, finance, and distribution companies, has sold to Prime Video the rights to the African continent. Mannequin is now pursuing sales in all other territories. The eight-part series is hosted by comedian and actor Schalk Bezuidenhout.

EXCLUSIVE: Lumanity Productions announced that a feature film adaptation deal has been inked with Christine Mangan for her novel The Continental Affair.  

Paul Weller has announced his first North American tour in seven years – see all details below.The Modfather has unveiled his return to the continent in support of his upcoming album ’66’, set for release on the day before his 66th birthday (May 24). It will be his first tour in North America in seven years.Weller’s tour will kick off in September, where he will play a show in Red Bank, New Jersey on the 6th.

Avatar actress CCH Pounder and Academy Award-nominated producer Paul Garnes will attend the inaugural Cross Continental International Co-production Forum (CCF) in Barbados.

The 2024 Solar Eclipse is happening in just a few hours, and you might be out of luck if you don’t have official eclipse protective eye wear.

Flights between Manchester and Ireland are among dozens across the UK to have been cancelled as Storm Kathleen brings winds of up to 70mph. Aer Lingus has cancelled 10 flights between Dublin, Belfast and Manchester Airport today, but it's not clear exactly why.

Julian Alvarez has won pretty much everything there is to win as a player, so much so that he doesn't know exactly where all his medals are.

K.J. Yossman Fremantle has completed its acquisition of global production studio Asacha Media Group, the company confirmed today. Fremantle acquired the group from founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe Andrea Scrosati spearheaded the acquisition.

King and Conqueror” has revealed additional cast members, including “The Crown’s” Luther Ford and “Game of Thrones” actor Joseph Mawle, as it begins production in Iceland. According to its official plot description, “King and Conqueror” is “the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years, the roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea.

Just eight minutes walk from South Kensington station, and quite literally around the corner from the V&A, sits The Franklin. Upon first impressions, the grand townhouse looks just like one of the other red-brick homes on Egerton Gardens. However, behind the large dark front door, is a stunning hotel that makes you feel like you're stepping into a home away from home.

Britons could end up seeing a much warmer end to the month compared to the current conditions, according to weather forecasters.

Lionsgate is expanding two of its biggest movie franchises, John Wick and Twilight, with new TV series offshoots. The company’s Vice Chairman Michael Burns shared information about the two projects during a Q&A at the Morgan Stanley media conference.

Ben Croll Originally developed as an eight-episode series, the WWI-era adventure “Lucy Lost” will instead hit the silver screen now that Paris-based powerhouse Xilam Animation has retooled the project as a feature. “Klaus” alum Olivier Clert has boarded as co-writer and director, joining BAFTA-winning screenwriter Helen Blankman for a seaside family tale adapted from “War Horse” author Michael Morpurgo’s 2014 novel “Listen to the Moon.” Xilam has shared this first-look with Variety ahead of the reformatted project’s pitch at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux.

The Librarians lives on in a follow-up series!

Christopher Vourlias The anticipated goldrush for African creators sparked by Netflix’s 2016 entry into the market hasn’t entirely come to fruition, though the influx of investment from local and global streaming platforms has nevertheless been transformative for Africa’s screen industries. Budgets, production values and outputs are rising, and breakout hits — such as Netflix’s Nigerian thriller “The Black Book” and South African teen drama “Blood & Water” — highlight the power of global streaming services to deliver African stories to audiences around the world.

Christopher Vourlias The sixth edition of the Joburg Film Festival wraps Sunday, putting a bow on a week that saw many in the host nation reflecting on South Africa’s long journey in the three decades since the end of apartheid. But among the filmmakers and executives taking part in the second JBX content market the focus was squarely on the future, as Africa’s streaming wars and an eye toward global dealmaking highlighted how the tide has begun to shift in how the world perceives the continent.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate Television Group has promoted three company veterans in its business affairs department. Ashley Morales has been elevated to EVP, Television Business Affairs, Elisabeth James Rhee to SVP, Business Affairs & Labor Relations, and Keith Warren to SVP, Television Business Affairs, the company announced today.

PJ Harvey has announced a late summer/early fall run of shows across the United States and lower Canada, her first North American trek in seven years. The tour is scheduled to begin on September 11 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

Christopher Vourlias Following on the heels of a successful post-pandemic reboot one year ago, the Joburg Film Festival kicks off its sixth edition on Feb. 27, with the glitzy capital of South Africa’s media and entertainment industry showcasing a selection of top talents from the host country and across the African continent.

K.J. Yossman Fremantle has inked a deal to acquire Asacha Media Group from Oaktree Capital Management L.P. Paris-headquartered Asacha houses eight labels in the U.K., France and Italy including Stand By Me, Arrow Media and Kabo Family.

UK-based casting directory Spotlight and Filmmakers Europe, a similar online platform for mainland Europe, have set a new cross-platform partnership. 

Christopher Vourlias Oscar nominee Abderrahmane Sissako (“Timbuktu”) returns to the screen for the first time in nearly a decade with his latest feature, “Black Tea,” a lushly lensed romantic drama about a love spanning cultural divides that world premieres Feb. 21 in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

Christopher Vourlias The fight for diversity and inclusion takes center stage at this year’s European Film Market, which will host a day-long event Feb. 20 as part of a concerted, pan-European effort to open more doors in the continent’s screen industries.

Christopher Vourlias Africa’s growing screen industries are making their mark on the global stage, with three titles in the main competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, but how to unlock the continent’s still-untapped potential was a question on the minds of many at a conference hosted on Saturday by the European Film Market. A partnership between EFM and Prudence Kolong’s Stockholm-based consulting firm Yanibes, AfroBerlin was launched to give a platform to filmmakers from Africa and the diaspora and “to find a place where they can share stories and experiences and be heard,” said Kolong, who also organizes the Cannes Film Festival’s AfroCannes industry showcase.

Lionsgate will open its fourth Las Vegas attraction later this year, the John Wick Experience, in a partnership with immersive entertainment district AREA15.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated immigration epic “Io Capitano” is gaining traction in movie theaters across the African continent, and will soon be touring villages in Senegal with the director in tow as part of an itinerant cinema initiative called Cinemovel. Shot over 13 weeks in Senegal, Italy and Morocco with a cast of non-professional actors, the Italian auteur’s latest feature — the title for which translates to “Me Captain” — narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave the Senegalese capital of Dakar to go to Europe.

There’s another Game of Thrones spinoff now in the works!