If viewers are looking for an easy watch, it’s not “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.” And that’s the whole point. The three-part Hulu docuseries, directed by Zach Heinzerling, dives into the emotional and physical torture that students endured at the hands of conman Larry Ray. Ray was arrested in 2020, one year…

Jeremy Clarkson’s vitriolic Meghan Markle column in The Sun is being formally investigated by the U.K.’s media watchdog following two group complaints. IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organization, has confirmed that it’s launched an investigation into Clarkson’s article, which was published by the British tabloid on Dec. 17. The article was headlined “One day, Harold…

Netflix’s next docu-series, “Waco: American Apocalypse,” will dig into how cult leader David Koresh faced off with the federal government in bloody 51-day siege. Directed by Tiller Russell (“Night Stalker”), the upcoming series will feature three 50 minute episodes and premiere March 22, Variety has learned exclusively. The launch date coincides with the 30th anniversary…

Sharon Levy has been promoted to CEO of Banijay’s Endemol Shine North America. As Levy takes on her new role, Endemol Shine North America will shift from its dual role as a studio and Banijay Americas’ holding company to solely an independent production company, alongside the nine other Banijay studios in the territory. The shift…

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” and “God of War” are among the nominees at the 21st annual Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) awards. The nominees span 26 categories that range from music to sound design and dialogue. The awards ceremony will take place in person for the first time since 2019 at the Moscone…

The late comedian John Candy is getting the documentary treatment from Colin Hanks and Ryan Reynolds. Amazon’s Prime Video is in negotiations to acquire an untitled film that Hanks has been quietly directing. Reynolds — who, like Candy, hails from Canada — is producing alongside George Dewey via his Maximum Effort production company.  The film…

Ben Wasserstein has entered a first look deal at Richard Plepler’s Eden Productions. Under the deal, Wasserstein will pursue and develop new comedy and drama series, limited series and films for Eden’s multi-year deal with Apple TV+. He will work alongside Heather Karpas, who joined Eden in 2020 after previously working at ICM Partners. Before…

“The Peripheral” has been renewed for Season 2 at Amazon. The series, based on the William Gibson novel of the same name, debuted on Amazon on Oct. 21, 2022. The series stars Chloë Grace Moretz and hails from executive producers Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan under their Amazon overall deal. Scott B. Smith developed the…

Disney leadership broke down the specifics of the company-wide restructuring Thursday, following CEO Bob Iger’s initial earnings re-org announcement that split the media giant into three divisions: Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. As announced Wednesday, under the new structure, TV chief Dana Walden and film studio head Alan Bergman will be…

FORMAT Fremantle and Kansai TV have launched new entertainment format “Quiz Pong” following a co-development deal initially revealed at MIPCOM 2022. The format was launched in Japan last month by Kansai TV and Fremantle will handle the production and global distribution. “Quiz Pong” is a fast-paced gameshow where teams compete against each other in a fun tournament…