Television
Abi Morgan Planning a Cleopatra TV series with All-Female Writing Team
Two-time Emmy winner Abi Morgan is taking on another iconic historical figure. The scribe behind Margaret Thatcher biopic “The Iron Lady” is in early development on a series about Cleopatra,...
Sharon Horgan’s “Motherland” Comedy Series Coming to the U.S.
”Motherland” is already two seasons into its run on BBC in the UK, but it won’t be long before Sharon Horgan’s BAFTA-nominated series is available for U.S. viewers. Deadline reports that the...
Mary Shelley Named Protagonist of “Genius” Season 3
Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso will be succeeded by legendary writer Mary Shelley on National Geographic’s “Genius.” Deadline confirms that the “Frankenstein” author has been named the...
Gillian Flynn Lands Series Order at Amazon and Signs Overall Deal
“Gone Girl” screenwriter and author Gillian Flynn has another TV series on the way. Already an exec producer and writer on “Sharp Objects,” an HBO miniseries set to debut in 2018, the...
Gabrielle Union Signs First Look Deal with Sony Pictures TV
Gabrielle Union is well on her way to becoming a mogul. According to Deadline, the “Being Mary Jane” star and producer has inked a first look deal with Sony Pictures TV. The two-year agreement...
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” Aline Brosh McKenna and Sono Patel Have a New Show in the Works
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” co-creator and showrunner Aline Brosh McKenna has yet another TV project in the works. Deadline revealed that Pop TV has ordered a pilot from Brosh McKenna and “Crazy...
Reese Witherspoon, Issa Rae, and Niki Caro Among This Year’s Gracie Award Winners
The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) has announced the winners of the 43rd annual Gracie Awards. Set to take place May 22 in Los Angeles, the event celebrates programming created by,...
Trailer Watch: NYT Contends with Trust and Trump in Liz Garbus’ “The Fourth Estate”
Since Donald Trump’s election in November 2016, much of the country has been feeling tense. This sense of dread is front and center in a new trailer for Liz Garbus’ Showtime docuseries “The...
Bruna Papandrea to Exec Produce Series Based on Allison Pearson’s “How Hard Can It Be?”
Bruna Papandrea has scored the rights to another buzzy novel with plans to bring it to the small screen. The “Big Little Lies” executive producer’s Made Up Stories optioned the rights to...
“On My Block” Renewed for Season 2
Netflix has given “On My Block” a sophomore season. Variety reports that the half-hour comedy co-created by Lauren Iungerich (“Awkward”) has been renewed. The series, which bowed in March,...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Vicky Jones’ “Run” Gets Pilot Order from HBO
“Fleabag” creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has yet another series in the works. Her newest show, BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” just received a second season pickup before a single...
“Broad City” to End With Season 5, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson Sign First-Look Deal with Viacom
Ilana and Abbi’s New York City adventures are coming to a close. “Broad City’s” previously announced fifth season on Comedy Central will be its last, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. It’s...
Jessica Jones Renewed for a Third Season
We haven’t seen the last of Jessica Jones. The sardonic heroine will be returning for a third run on Netflix. The streaming giant announced the news one month after “Jessica Jones’” second...
New Hotline Offers Help to Those Working in UK Film and TV
If you or someone you know works in UK film and television and is struggling, the Film & Television Charity is here to help. A press release has announced the launch of the Film & TV Support...
Trailer Watch: Dawn Porter Documents RFK’s Life and Death in “Bobby Kennedy for President”
“What I think is quite clear is, there is division, there’s violence, and disenchantment with our society,” Robert Kennedy asserts, via archival footage, in the trailer for “Bobby Kennedy...
“Insecure,” “Handmaid’s Tale,” and More Nominated for Peabody Awards
This is cause for a celebration: nominations for the 77th annual Peabody Awards have been announced and a wide range of projects by and about women are being recognized. Female-driven works such as...
Laura Dern Sundance Breakout “The Tale” Gets Premiere Date and Teaser from HBO
“The Tale” made a major mark at Sundance earlier this year, and now Jennifer Fox’s acclaimed narrative debut is prepping for its HBO premiere. The Laura Dern-starrer has received an air date...
Nearly Half of “Luke Cage’s” New Season Is Women-Directed — A Major Change from Season 1
“Luke Cage” has undergone a major behind-the-scenes makeover. According to blackfilm.com, the Netflix superhero series’ sophomore outing will feature six episodes directed by...
Rosemary Rodriguez to Direct “Grandma’s Shoes from Poland”
Rosemary Rodriguez just signed on to direct the pilot of CBS’ “Cagney and Lacey” reboot, and now Deadline reports that she’ll helm “Grandma’s Shoes from Poland,” a new feature. Set in...
“Mom” Renewed for Season 6. Will The Show Bring on More Female Directors?
We haven’t seen the last of Christy and Bonnie Plunkett. The mother-daughter duo are set to return for a sixth season on “Mom,” The Hollywood reporter confirms. Anna Farris and recent Oscar...
Gender-Swapped “High Fidelity” TV Reboot in Development
“High Fidelity” may soon be making its way to your “Top Five Gender-Flipped Reboots” list. “Ugly Betty” writers Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka are adapting the 1995 Nick Hornby novel...
Tiffany Haddish to Exec Produce HBO Comedy Examining Female Blackness, Beauty, and Identity
After signing a first-look deal with HBO in January, “Girls Trip” breakout Tiffany Haddish has set up her first project with the premium cable network. The stand-up comedian will executive...
“Hidden Figures” Series in Development, “First Wives Club” Gets Pilot Order
We might be getting more Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Elise Elliot Atchison, Brenda Morelli Cushman, and Annie MacDuggan Paradis. That’s right: TV adaptations of “Hidden...
Liz Feldman’s “Dead To Me” Gets Series Order from Netflix
Liz Feldman’s latest project has landed at Netflix. The streamer gave a series order to dark comedy “Dead To Me” in a “competitive situation,” Deadline reports. Centering on an unlikely...
Lorena Bobbitt Docuseries in the Works at Amazon
“Get Out” writer-director Jordan Peele is set to revisit one of the most sensational trials in U.S. history. His Monkeypaw shingle has a Lorena Bobbitt docuseries in development at Amazon, The...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Killing Eve” Gets Second Season Pickup Before Series Premiere
BBC America has yet to air a single episode of “Killing Eve,” but the network is clearly expecting good things from the show: Days before its series premiere, the new thriller from...
TV Adaptation of Christie Watson’s Nursing Memoir “Language of Kindness” On the Way
“The Language of Kindness” hasn’t even hit shelves yet and it’s already being adapted for the screen. Christie Watson’s memoir about nurses, compassion, caring, and healing is receiving...
Kathryn Hahn and Nicole Holofcener Team Up for HBO Pilot “Mrs. Fletcher”
Kathryn Hahn has signed on to star in another small screen adaptation of a novel. The “I Love Dick” actress will topline half-hour comedy series “Mrs. Fletcher” for HBO, The Hollywood...
Spring 2018 TV Preview: Shows Created By and About Women to Check Out
“Killing Eve”: Sophie Mutevelian Warmer weather, budding trees, blooming flowers — spring (fingers crossed) finally seems to be here. To make good news even better, it has arrived with a...
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” Returning for Fourth and Final Season
Some bittersweet news for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” fans: Rachel Bloom and co. will be returning to West Covina for a fourth season, but it’ll mark the final installment of the critically...
“A League of Their Own” Series from Abbi Jacobson in Development at Amazon
The Rockford Peaches are eyeing a return to the field. A series inspired by “A League of Their Own” is in development at Amazon, according to Variety. Reportedly “not a close adaptation” of...
Sony and EbonyLife Team Up for Female-Led African Warrior Series
Another story about the Dahomey Warriors is in the works. Nigeria-based production company and TV network EbonyLife has signed a three-series deal with Sony, and the first project will be an action...
“Chewing Gum’s” Michaela Coel to Deliver Prestigious Lecture at Edinburgh TV Fest
“Chewing Gum” creator, writer, and star Michaela Coel has been invited to give the MacTaggart lecture at this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival. She’ll become the fifth...
Women Creators and Directors Making Strides on 2018–19 Pilot Season
This pilot season looks like it will be a historic one for women directors and creators. According to a report from Variety, “female creators and directors saw gains virtually across the board.”...
Shorts From Project HER Incubator Program Unveiled
A Snugglr and a prison guard are just a couple of the characters tackled by newly released shorts from Conde Nast Entertainment and Indigenous Media’s Project HER incubator program. Designed with...
Trailer Watch: Gilead Is Within Offred in “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 2
When we last saw Offred (Elisabeth Moss), real name June, in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” she was being carted away to who knows where in a foreboding black van. In the trailer for Season 2 of...
Superheroines in the City: VOD and Web Series Picks
Our VOD and web series picks this month are city-set explorations of women fighting back. The VOD selections document the internal struggles of young women reconciling society’s expectations with...
Augustine Frizzell to Direct and Co-Exec Produce HBO Pilot “Euphoria”
Following her success at this year’s Sundance and SXSW festivals, Augustine Frizzell has more than a few projects in the works. Now, the “Never Goin’ Back” helmer has signed on to direct and...
Connie Britton Will Topline and EP First Season of Bravo Anthology “Dirty John”
Connie Britton has booked yet another TV project. The “Friday Night Lights” alumna has signed on to star and executive produce Season 1 of “Dirty John,” Bravo’s upcoming true crime...
Serena Williams Hits the Court and Screen in HBO Docuseries “Being Serena”
Last year was quite the eventful one for tennis champion Serena Williams. In January 2017 Williams won her seventh Australian Open. And she didn’t just dominate: she did so while eight weeks...
“One Day at a Time” Renewed for Season 3
At long last, Netflix has released the news we’ve all impatiently been waiting for: “One Day at a Time” will return for a third season. Per Deadline, the heartfelt sitcom following Penelope...
Gina Rodriguez to Star in Netflix’s Live-Action “Carmen Sandiego” Film
With “Annihilation” still in theaters and more than one Netflix project on the horizon, Gina Rodriquez is on fire — and she isn’t showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. According to...
Women Directing 32 Percent of 2018–19 Pilots
It’s official: the 2018–19 pilot season has been much more welcoming to women than 2017–18. According to Vulture, women are directing 24 of the 75 broadcast TV pilots this year, which amounts...
Nahnatchka Khan Directing Rom-Com for Netflix, Ali Wong and Randall Park to Star
“Fresh Off the Boat’s” Nahnatchka Khan, Ali Wong, and Randall Park are teaming up for a romantic comedy, Variety confirms. The ABC family comedy’s creator/showrunner, Khan, will direct Wong...
Quote of the Day: Lena Waithe Wants to Tell More Black, Queer Stories
“I am tired of white folks telling my stories,” actress, writer, and producer Lena Waithe said in Vanity Fair’s April 2018 cover story. “We gotta tell our shit. Can’t no one tell a black...
Margot Robbie to Produce Female-Led Shakespearean Drama Series
Love William Shakespeare’s plays but wish characters like Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, and Goneril and Regan were more fully developed? Margot Robbie seems to be on the same page — the...
Books, Films, News, Television
Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough Teaming Up for Noir Thriller “The Earthquake Bird”
Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough are heading to Japan. The new Lara Croft and the “American Honey” actress are in talks to topline Netflix noir thriller “The Earthquake Bird,” based on...
“Madam Secretary” Creator Barbara Hall Signs Overall Deal With CBS TV Studios
Barbara Hall is staying put at CBS, the network behind “Madam Secretary.” The political drama’s creator and showrunner has signed a new overall deal with CBS Television Studios, Variety...
Susan Johnson’s Adaptation of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” Goes to Netflix
YA favorite “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is coming to Netflix. A press release announced that the streamer has acquired global rights to Susan Johnson’s adaptation of Jenny Han’s...
“Queen Sugar” Season 3 Will Be Directed Entirely by Women
“Queen Sugar” is sticking with its feminist hiring practices for its third season. The Root confirms that Season 3 of the Ava DuVernay’s OWN family drama will be directed entirely by women, as...
Amy Poehler Is Making Her Feature Directorial Debut with “Wine Country”
Amy Poehler is directing her first movie and taking plenty of “SNL” friends along on the vino-filled journey. Variety reports that the “Parks and Recreation” alumna will helm, produce, and...