Deadline

The House of Representatives voted 415-14 late Wednesday to establish June 19 as a federal holiday in the U.S. Called Juneteenth National Independence Day, the 156-year-old celebration commemorates the end of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. Celebrated in 47 states and the District of Columbia, Juneteenth has long been seen as a marker of the day state-sanctioned slavery in America ended.

Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino returned to the serene coasts of Italy for HBO Max’s We Are Who We Are. The director’s debut TV project is the next stop in Deadline’s It Starts On the Page, a series that highlights the scripts that serve as the creative backbone of the now-underway TV awards season. The scripts are all being submitted for Emmy consideration this year and have been selected here using criteria that includes critical acclaim, selecting from a wide range of networks and platforms, and a mix of established and lesser-known shows.

Disneyland opened its gates a bit more on Tuesday, but it was not enough. On the first day of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California reopening, the Anaheim park was allowed to return to full capacity — and it was inundated with visitors. While Disneyland officials — and those at many other...

Amanda Coe has plenty of experience adapting big novels into TV series, winning a BAFTA for the 2012 drama Room at the Top and also penning her version of Apple Tree Yard. In the latest from the creator and writer of The Trial of Christine Keeler she took on Black Narcissus, an adaptation of Rumer Godden’s steamy 1939 novel, which Coe turned into a three-part limited series for FX and the BBC.

EXCLUSIVE: Power EP Mark Canton is teaming with former WWE star Karlee Leilani Perez to develop a new cop series. The show, Miami River Cops (working title), is based on the life of former police officer Victor Zapata. It will follow Zapata as a young Latin street cop, examining his...

Fox Corp. has completed its upfront sales process, with CPM gains across its linear and digital portfolio in the range of 20%, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. No individual network was broken out from the overall set of platforms, meaning recently acquired streaming service Tubi is combined...

The Justice Department dropped its lawsuit against Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, over the publication of his book last year. The book, The Room Where It Happened, was an unflattering portrait of Trump as an impulsive and uninformed president who was out of his element in dealing with other world leaders.

EXCLUSIVE: Lacretta is set as a series regular in NBC’s half-hour pilot Night Court, a follow-up to the classic legal comedy series that’s headlined and executive produced by Melissa Rauch, with the original series’ John Larroquette reprising his Emmy-winning role. Written/executive produced by Dan Rubin based on the original series...

EXCLUSIVE: Virgil Films has acquired the North American rights to Far Out West: Inside California’s Kerista Commune, a documentary about a decades-long experiment in communal living. The film will get a virtual release this fall, followed by a rollout across digital platforms. Virgil’s description the film sums up a tale...

UTA this week became the first of the major agencies and one of the first entertainment companies to reopen its offices after 15 months, inviting back agents and support staff that have been vaccinated against Covid. The offices re-opened yesterday, this coming two weeks after the agency opened its new offices in Nashville. Plans are to reopen in London August 31 and New York on September 7.

EXCLUSIVE: Miroma SET, a new branding and marketing firm, has been established through the integration of several companies previously managed by London-based Reach4Entertainment. Marc Boyan, head of the Miroma Group, will steer the new platform, whose activities span sports, entertainment and technology. Services include branding, marketing, advertising, creative design, digital...

EXCLUSIVE: Bokeem Woodbine and Raúl Castillo are set to join Elegance Bratton’s The Inspection starring Jeremy Pope and Gabrielle Union from A24 and Gamechanger Films. The film, written by Bratton and based on his own life, will begin shooting later this summer. Bratton just won an Independent Spirit Award for his documentary Pier Kids.

Apple has unveiled the ensemble cast for Surface, its upcoming psychological thriller series from High Fidelity co-creator and exec producer Veronica West. Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Lost Daughter, The Haunting of Bly Manor), Emmy nominee Stephan James (Homecoming, If Beale Street Could Talk), Ari Graynor (Mrs. America, I’m Dying Up Here), François Arnaud (UnReal, The Borgias), Oscar nominee Marianne Jean Baptiste (Secrets & Lies, Homecoming) and Millie Brady (The Queen’s Gambit, Roadkill) join previously announced Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the series produced by Apple Studios and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Additionally, Emmy-nominated Sam Miller (I May Destroy You, Luther) will serve as director and executive producer on the eight-episode first season.

The world of UFOs has been ignited by a recent report that the U.S. government is taking the phenomenon seriously. Now, J.J. Abrams is getting in on the act and is exec producing a four-part documentary series on our fascination with unidentified flying objects for Showtime. The ViacomCBS premium cable...

Kenan Thompson is a pretty busy guy. In addition to starring on Saturday Night Live and fronting and exec producing his own eponymous sitcom for NBC, Thompson exec produces Nickelodeon’s reboot of the sketch comedy All That. He would also like to do more of the latter. Thompson, speaking to...

Will Smith is set to host his first-ever comedy variety special at Netflix. According to the streaming giant, the one-hour special will include surprise celebrity guests, noteworthy. conversation, fresh comedic sketches, huge musical performances and more. Smith’s Westbrook Studios is producing. Smith serves as an executive producer alongside Co-Head of...

Riverdale‘s Mädchen Amick has been set to make her feature directing debut with Reminisce, with two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern and Elissa Shay to star in the indie drama. It hails from FutureRetro Productions, Firehouse Films and Lucky Penny Productions, and shooting starts next month in Los Angeles. The plot...

AMC Entertainment will present a weeklong AMC Black Picture Showcase at select theaters nationwide starting Friday to celebrate Juneteenth. The newly established national holiday commemorates the abolishment of slavery in the U.S. The exhibitor said tickets will cost $5 to shows of “classic, contemporary and culturally relevant, black-led films.”. The...

EXCLUSIVE: Julia Davis and Elijah Wood have joined Peter Dinklage and Jacob Tremblay in Legendary’s new Toxic Avenger movie. Taylour Paige and Kevin Bacon are also on board for director Macon Blair. A contemporary reimagining of Troma Entertainment’s successful 1984 low-budget action comedy hit, The Toxic Avenger is steeped in...

Marvel Studios president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige on Wednesday was asked the question on everyone’s minds: Will WandaVision get a Season 2?. Technically, the question from an audience member at the virtual Paley Dialogue session with Feige was if he foresees a continuation of WandaVision or an evolution in storyline in different capacities.