Television
Netflix Making Margaret Atwood’s “Alias Grace” Into Miniseries with Sarah Polley
After the success of “Making a Murderer,” Netflix is keen on continuing the addicting trend that is true-crime entertainment. Now, the streaming site has just green-lit a six-hour miniseries...
Ryan Murphy Creates Foundation For Diversifying Directors
Ryan Murphy, creator of “Glee” and “American Horror Story,” is launching a foundation within his 20th Century Fox-based production company aiming to diversify Hollywood, according to The...
ACLU Supports NY Film and TV Diversity Bill
The ACLU is putting pressure on New York legislators to pass a bill that would make the state the first to grant financial incentives to TV shows that hire women and minority writers and directors,...
Weekly Update for June 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Finding Dory “Finding Dory” reunites the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few...
“Making a Murderer” Creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos Adapting New TV Series with George…
“Making a Murderer” Creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos Adapting New TV Series with George Clooney The female filmmakers behind Netflix’s hit true crime series “Making Murderer” will...
“Orphan Black” Renewed for Fifth and Final Season
The good news: “Orphan Black” is returning for a fifth season. The bad news: Season 5 will mark the end of the series. The fifth and final season, composed of 10 episodes, is set to air in 2017....
Re-Writing the Script: June’s Web Series Picks
“Caring” This month’s women-helmed web series picks are clever, innovative, and and wide-ranging in their representations of women. By putting experiences usually cast aside front and center,...
CBC Takes Steps to Hire 50% Female Directors for Scripted Dramas
Canadian public broadcaster CBC announced that at least half of the episodes of some of its most popular scripted programs will be directed by women. The move reflects the ongoing discussion about...
Lily Tomlin, Gina Rodriguez, and Other Comedy Actresses Sound Off on Sexism at THR Roundtable
The Hollywood Reporter brought together some of the biggest names from the small-screen for its Comedy Actress Roundtable. The six hilarious participants —Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”),...
TV Land Renews “Younger” for Fourth Season
TV Land’s Sutton Foster comedy “Younger” has been renewed for a fourth season, Broadway World reports, shortly after production began on the third, which is set to premiere on September...
Watch: Samantha Bee Rips Apart the NRA on “Full Frontal”
“After a massacre,” Samantha Bee said on the most recent episode of her show “Full Frontal,” “the standard operating procedure is that you stand on stage and deliver some well-meaning...
Mindy Kaling Signs Multi-Year Deal with Universal TV
Mindy Kaling has secured a multi-year deal with Universal TV, Variety has reported. The deal is for acting, producing, and writing. Universal produces her current series “The Mindy Project,”...
Quote of the Day: “The Girlfriend Experience” Star Riley Keough Talks “Shitty” Roles For Women
Riley Keough plays a law student and sex worker on Starz’s “The Girlfriend Experience.” The rising star explained the allure of the meaty role to The Hollywood Reporter: the chance to play an...
Helena Bonham Carter to Star in, Produce “Saint Mazie” Miniseries
Helena Bonham Carter is coming to the small-screen. The two-time Oscar nominee will star in the miniseries “Saint Maizie,” a portrait of a big-hearted New Yorker in the Jazz Age. Bonham Carter...
New TV Adaptation of “Portrait of a Lady” in the Works
A new television adaptation of Henry James’ “Portrait of a Lady” is in the works. As Variety reports, Number 9 Films, one of the producers of “Carol,” is teaming up with Red Production...
Queen Latifah To Be Recognized at “VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens”
Multi-hyphenate talent Queen Latifah will be celebrated at “VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens.” The Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner will executive produce the event via Flavor Unit....
Nicole Kidman Joins “Top of the Lake” Season 2 with Elisabeth Moss and Gwendoline Christie
Oz’s biggest movie star is joining our favorite Australia-set series. Deadline reports that Nicole Kidman has signed on to Season 2 of Jane Campion’s feminist mystery series “Top of the...
Lisa Joy to Write “Battlestar Galactica” Movie
A long-awaited, new big-screen adaptation of the 1970s TV series “Battlestar Galactica” is in the works at Universal with a female screenwriter. Lisa Joy, executive producer and scriptwriter for...
CBS Developing Limited Series Based on Patty Hearst
Prepare for the term “Stockholm Syndrome” to re-enter public consciousness in a big way. CBS is in the midst of developing a limited series based on Patty Hearst, arguably the most famous,...
“Orange is the New Black” Smartly Puts the Prison Industry in its Cross Hairs
The fourth season of “Orange is the New Black,” premiering on Netflix June 17, takes on some very topical issues as Litchfield comes to terms with its new corporate owner. It’s an interesting...
“Nashville” Renewed For Fifth Season at CMT
After being cancelled last month at ABC, “Nashville,” created by Callie Khouri, has officially been renewed for a fifth season airing on CMT, Variety reports. “CMT heard the fans. The wave of...
Trailer Watch: Winona Ryder’s Creepy Quest in Netflix’s “Stranger Things”
If 99 times out of 100, a missing kid is with a parent or a relative, what about the other one time? That’s what Winona Ryder’s character wants to know in this creepy new trailer for Netflix’s...
Robin Thede Calls for Support for WGAE’s Diversity Tax Credit
Robin Thede, a writer and performer for “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore,” has penned a personal essay for Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter in which she calls for the support of Writer’s Guild...
Quote of the Day: “Grace and Frankie” Creator Marta Kauffman Talks Aging on TV
The Hollywood Reporter recently hosted a roundtable of six comedy showrunners, and while the discussion featured many highlights, a delightfully candid comment from “Grace and Frankie”...
Hettie MacDonald to Direct “Howards End” Miniseries for BBC
Hettie MacDonald will direct a miniseries adaptation of “Howards End” for the BBC, Deadline has reported. The series will be a four-parter. Based on the classic 1910 E. M. Forster novel of the...
Kerry Washington Will Receive SAG-AFTRA’s Actors Inspiration Award
Kerry Washington, star of ABC’s “Scandal” and HBO’s “Confirmation,” has been selected as the recipient of the Actors Inspiration Award by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Washington, Variety...
“Homeland” Season 6 Will Have a Female President
Mere hours before Hillary Clinton became the first woman in U.S. history to secure a major party’s presidential nomination, it was revealed that the next season of Showtime’s hit series...
“From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series” Announces Season 3 Directors with Only One Woman for 10 Episodes
Miramax and El Rey Network have announced the directors for Season 3 of “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,” and only one of the 10 episodes will be directed by a woman. As a press release...
“Tomorrowland’s” Britt Robertson to Star in Netflix’s “Girlboss”
Britt Robertson, who starred in last year’s Disney sci-fi film “Tomorrowland,” will topline an upcoming Netflix original series called “Girlboss.” The 13-episode comedy was inspired by the...
Kathryn Bigelow and Amy Sherman-Palladino Both Have Pilots in the Works
Two new shows are in the works from a couple of our favorite women in the industry. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO has ordered a pilot from “The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow....
Pearlena Igbokwe to Head Universal Television
Pearlena Igbokwe has been named the next president of Universal Television, reports Variety. The position was previously held by Bela Bajaria, who left the studio earlier this week. Igbokwe is...
Amy Poehler and Natasha Lyonne Bringing “Zero Motivation” to TV
“Zero Motivation” stole the show at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, where it took home top honors, and now the social satire is coming to TV. Talya Lavie’s acclaimed directorial debut is...
“First Wives Club” Coming to TV, Alyson Hannigan and Megan Hilty Will Star
“The First Wives Club” is likely coming to the small-screen — the project was picked up to pilot in March — and now we know some of the leading ladies who will top line the potential...
Julie Andrews Will Star in Netflix Preschool Series with The Jim Henson Company
Netflix has announced that Mary Poppins herself Julie Andrews will star in “Julie’s Greenroom,” a new preschool show with puppets from The Jim Henson Company that will feature “an all-new...
“UnREAL” Season 2: Happily Never After
“UnREAL”: Lifetime The new season of Lifetime’s caustic reality-TV satire “UnREAL” (premiering June 6 at 10 p.m.) kicks everything — and everyone — up a notch. Rachel (Shiri...
“G.L.O.W.” Female Wrestler Series Set for Netflix
“Orange is the New Black” creator and showrunner Jenji Kohan is on board for a fun new series for Netflix. The streaming network has green lit “G.L.O.W.” Variety has reported. Kohan will...
HBO Confirms Fall Debuts for Sarah Jessica Parker’s “Divorce” and Issa Rae’s “Insecure”
HBO has confirmed fall debuts for some upcoming female-centric shows. Though specific premiere dates have not been released, the powerhouse network has revealed that the following shows will hit the...
Samantha Morton, Jessica Brown Findlay, Lesley Manville Set for Hulu’s “Harlots”
Samantha Morton (“The Last Panthers”), Jessica Brown Findlay (“Downton Abbey”), and Lesley Manville (“Maleficent”) are set to star in “Harlots,” a co-production between Hulu and ITV,...
Sheila Nevins to Be Honored at Sheffield Doc/Fest
Powerhouse exec Sheila Nevins will be honored at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest. Nevins is the president of HBO Documentary Films. She first joined the premium cable network in 1979 as Director of...
Whoopi Goldberg to Produce Transgender Model Series for Oxygen
Whoopi Goldberg will executive produce the new series “Strut” for Oxygen, Variety has reported. The show will follow transgender models who are breaking into the industry and trying to become...
Laughing to Keep From Crying: May 2016’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“Bad Mother” Women are constantly taking risks to make their voices heard through alternative platforms. The web series and VOD picks this month demonstrate just how bold women media makers are,...
DGA Report: Women Directed 17% of TV in 2015–16 Season
Women and ethnic minorities are making advancements in the world of episodic directing — but a sneak peak of the Director’s Guild of America’s annual report concedes that the figures for...
“Broadchurch’s” Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Write and Star in Amazon Comedy Series
“Broadchurch” co-stars Olivia Colman (“The Night Manager”) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are reuniting: the actresses are teaming up for an Amazon Prime Video series written by Waller-Bridge....
Kerry Washington, Julianna Margulies, Sarah Paulson, and More Women of TV Talk Sexism on THR’s…
Kerry Washington, Julianna Margulies, Sarah Paulson, and More Women of TV Talk Sexism on THR’s Roundtable The Actress Roundtable: The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter has put together...
“The Good Wife” Spinoff Confirmed with Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo
Good news for fans of “The Good Wife” who weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to the long-running legal drama when the series finale aired earlier this month. CBS has confirmed that a spinoff...
Nancy Drew Dropped from CBS for Being “Too Female” and More Pilot News
Next week’s “upfront” presentations in New York are where TV networks will hype their upcoming schedules to advertisers. As a result, a lot of big television decisions are being made. Many...
“Supergirl” Saved, “Agent Carter” Cut: The Fate of Female-Led Shows at Major Networks
“Agent Carter”: ABC With May’s up fronts on the horizon, networks are putting shows on the chopping block and calling up orders for new pilots left and right. At ABC in particular, popular...
Maria Bamford Finally Explodes in “Lady Dynamite”
As far as I can tell, the only lyric in the opening theme to Maria Bamford’s gloriously surreal new Netflix show is “I’m a pterodactyl!” Except in the pilot, when it’s “Have you ever...
TV Writers Petition For Tax Credits To Hire Women & Minorities
Call it Made in New York…by Women. According to Deadline, almost 500 film and TV writers have sent letters to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asking for new tax incentives for television producers...
Ending the “Bury Your Gays” Trope Would Help Storytellers
How do you solve a problem like LGBT characters dying at disproportionate rates on American television? How do you catch a trope and pin it down? With the fandom uproar over the slew of LGBT...
Trailer Watch: “Orange is the New Black” Season 4 is Definitely a Drama
“Do you know the difference between pain and suffering?” Pennsatucky asks in the new trailer for “Orange is the New Black” Season 4. “Pain is always there, but suffering is...