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Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor U.S. lawmakers have moved closer to enacting a countrywide ban on TikTok. Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill by a wide margin that would ban distribution of TikTok in U.S.

Katy Perry has her eye on a potential successor for her seat on the American Idol judging panel.

Stephen Colbert will travel to Chicago this summer and host The Late Show from the Windy City during the week of the DNC (Democratic National Convention).

The writers of MTV’s Ridiculousness have officially bargained their first contract.

The Oscars took place more than a month ago, but former President Donald Trump continues to grouse about its host, Jimmy Kimmel.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Donald Trump is keeping his Oscars feud with Jimmy Kimmel alive with a new post on Truth Social in which the former president once again slammed Kimmel for being a “horrendous” Academy Awards host. Trump then mixed up Kimmel with this year’s best picture presenter, Al Pacino.

Andrew Wallenstein President and Chief Media Analyst Horror continues to perform well at theaters. But as this new Variety VIP+ analysis of the track record scary movies have put together in 2024, no genre is immune to the ups and downs of the marketplace.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent With France on its highest level of security alert amid geopolitical turmoil in Ukraine and the Middle East, organizers behind the Paris Olympics are still going ahead with ambitious plans to host the opening ceremony along the Seine river on July 26. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, said on Monday in an interview with French outlets BFM TV and RMC that the opening ceremony could relocate to an indoor location “depending on our analysis of the context.” “We have fallback scenarios.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Golden Axe” animated series has been greenlit at Comedy Central, Variety has learned. Based on the beloved Sega games of the same name, the show hails from co-creators Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,” “Perry Mason”), Danny Pudi (“Community,” “Mythic Quest”), Lisa Gilroy (“Jury Duty,” “Interior Chinatown”), Liam McIntyre (“Spartacus,” “The Flash”), and Carl Tart (“Grand Crew,” “Star Trek: Lower Decks”) will lead the voice cast.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Studio Ghibli, the animation studio behind “My Neighbor Totoro” and the Oscar-winning animated feature “The Boy and the Heron,” is being awarded an Honorary Palme d’Or at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival. It marks the first time that the award will be given to a group.

Whoopi Goldberg is so over Travis Kelce…

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Shore Fire Media, one of the music industry’s most long-running and far-reaching strategy and communications companies, has announced the promotion of five of its top executives to key leadership positions. Allison Elbl, Matt Hanks, Mark Satlof and Rebecca Shapiro have been promoted to co-presidents, with Jaclyn D. Carter promoted to senior vice president.

William Earl Writers employed by “Sesame Street” producer Sesame Workshop have voted unanimously to support a strike authorization vote from the Writers Guild of America as the April 19 expiration of the current contract approaches. The 35 writers represented by the union have been in negotiations with the production company behind “Sesame Street” and other children’s programs since February.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Civil War” writer-director Alex Garland gave a lengthy interview to Vulture in which he was asked to weigh in on accusations against his film that claim it’s irresponsible to open it in theaters amid such a turbulent election year. Garland’s film is set in an America at war with itself (Texas and California have seceded to become the Western Forces) and follows a group of journalists attempting to interview the U.S. president.

Smartmatic has reached a settlement with One America News Network over claims that the news outlet amplified false claims that the voting systems company rigged the results of the 2020 election.

Travis Kelce is in the hot seat after seemingly showing support for Donald Trump!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, will be the subject of a biopic series produced by French mini-major Gaumont. The six-part show is being penned by Bénédicte Charles and Olivier Pouponneau, who previously teamed on the thriller series “J’ai menti.” Titled “Brigitte, une femme libre” (“Brigitte, a free woman”), the series will chart the life of French President Emmanuel Macron‘s wife. Gaumont is keeping the plot of the show under wraps and will be announcing the cast in the next few weeks.

Jon Stewart mocked Donald Trump on The Daily Show as the former POTUS campaigns and makes a run for the White House amid the hush money criminal trial.

Iran is "within minutes" of developing a nuclear capability and "mad enough to use it", the Government has been warned.

The Vice President is no longer heading to late-night.

EXCLUSIVE: Alloy Entertainment has promoted Elysa Koplovitz Dutton to the role of Executive Vice President of Theatrical Film Production, the company’s President and Chief Creative Officer Leslie Morgenstein announced on Monday.

Barron Trump has given insight into what his dad, former President Donald Trump, does at home. The 45th president of the United States and Melania Trump’s 18-year-old son spoke about his father during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Patrick Bet-David, Tom Ellsworth and Vincent Oshana.Barron Trump makes rare appearance with his parents over Easter“I’ve never seen Tom laugh this hard for an hour and a half,” Patrick recalled on an episode of the PBD Podcast earlier this month, revealing that they just “watched Barron run dinner with stories, entertainment, everything.” Vincent called the former president’s youngest son “witty, smart, hilarious,” noting that Barron has a “good head on his shoulders “ and is “smart on politics,” adding, “He’s like ‘You know, everybody’s always going to fight. There’s left.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wonya Lucas, former president and CEO of Hallmark Media Networks, has joined Comcast‘s board as an independent director. Comcast announced Lucas’s addition to the board, effective as of April 15, in an SEC filing Monday. She has not yet been appointed to serve as a member of any board committee, according to the filing.

Gemma Atkinson fans were left saying 'wow' as they made the same observation over the star's latest social media post featuring pictures of her late dad. The Hits Radio host took to social media as the self-confessed animal lover reflected on having a dog in her life from a young age.

When networks and other news outlets descend on the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse today for the start of Donald Trump‘s latest trial, much will be made of the fact that this is a moment like no other: A former president facing criminal proceedings.

IAC, the Barry Diller-owned company that controls The Daily Beast, has landed a strategic partnership with former Disney executive Ben Sherwood and Hearst veteran Joanna Coles to define the digital publication’s next chapter in a struggling media climate.

UPDATE: Prosecutors will be allowed to present evidence that Donald Trump had a special arrangement with the National Enquirer during the 2016 election cycle to publish positive stories about him and negative pieces on his rivals.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles inked a deal to lead IAC’s The Daily Beast, under which the media veterans have been granted a minority stake in the news and opinion site. Effective immediately, Sherwood — one-time president of the Disney ABC Television Group — will serve as The Daily Beast’s publisher and CEO. Coles, previously Hearst Magazines’ chief content officer, is the site’s chief creative and content officer.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Syndicated talk strip “Tamron Hall” has been picked up for a sixth season, ABC News was set to announce on Monday. The show, distributed nationally by Disney Entertainment, airs on the ABC-owned TV stations, as well as on stations owned by groups including Hearst, Scripps, Nexstar, Tegna, Gray and AMG. The news keeps “Tamron Hall” on the air through the 2024-2025 TV season.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Last week, Amazon Studios/Prime Video senior VP announced that Chris Brearton was leaving Amazon “to pursue a new opportunity outside the company.” Now we know what that opportunity is: Brearton, who had most recently served as vice president of Prime Video Studios Corporate Strategy at MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television, has joined indie media company AGBO as a partner. At AGBO, he will join company leaders Anthony and Joe Russo (the directors who co-founded the company in 2017) and partner Donald Mustard.