The number of factual TV shows in the UK directed by women has gone backwards over the past two years despite a weighty campaign to improve gender representation. According to research from the We Are Doc Women campaign, the proportion of UK factual shows directed by women fell slightly to 24% between April 2021 and
Diversity
EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 has refused to release the findings of an independent review into whether it is an anti-racist organization, saying that putting the document in the public domain would have a “chilling effect” on internal diversity discussions. The British broadcaster, which has a unique remit to champion under-represented voices, blocked the release of a
Outfest has postponed its upcoming Legacy Awards ceremony to 2024 and pushed pause on all programming for the near term, also initiating “leaves” for the majority of its staff, citing the severe impact the recent “financial climate” has had on the organization. In a statement released on Thursday, the LGBTQIA+ org’s Board of Directors said
Controversial soccer star Megan Rapinoe said today she will retire at the end of the year. The announcement comes on the eve of the women’s World Cup. Rapinoe, 38, has played for the U.S. women’s national team since 2006. This will be her fourth World Cup, which is scheduled to begin later this month in
Fresh Kanye West antisemitism accusations have emerged in a BBC documentary charting the recent times of the troubled artist. In The Trouble with KanYe, which launches tonight UK timeon BBC Two and is paired with a podcast, the rapper’s former business partner Alex Klein accuses him of anti-Jewish remarks when the pair parted ways. Klein
Ncuti Gatwa, who will make his debut next year as the first Black actor to play the title role in Doctor Who, says the opportunity has implications on more than his own career trajectory. “My mouth gets paralyzed by the concept of playing this role,” he said during a lunch hosted by the BBC and
EXCLUSIVE UPDATED: In April 2021, ABC’s first-responders drama Station 19 aired an episode hailed as one of the most powerful reflections of George Floyd’s murder on television. It was written by executive producer/showrunner Krista Vernoff, with contributions from the show’s writing and support staff as well as the cast. More than a year later, an
Lauren Ridloff and Joshua Feldman are being the change they hope to see in Hollywood. The creative duo spoke to Deadline about the importance of hiring deaf and disabled creatives on both sides of the camera to tell authentic stories—and they hope the industry follows their lead. “The most important thing to keep in mind
Channel 4 has appointed its first ever Director of Inclusion to oversee diversity strategy for the It’s a Sin broadcaster, who will sit on the Executive Management Board. Marcia Williams, who has 30 years experience working for the likes of the Treasury, Transport for London and The Law Society of England and Wales, will lead the 4Inclusion
Earlier this month Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman made a generous donation to Brandeis University, her alma mater. She pledged $4 million to establish an endowed professorship in the African and African American Studies Department there. In making the pledge Kauffman said, “It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic
UPDATE: Lil Nas X continued his BET jihad today, releasing the artwork for his new single, “Late to Da Party.” The art depicts him urinating on a BET Award that’s already soaking in bodily fluid in a toilet. He added insult to the injury with a minute-long “Star Wars”-esque text crawl that addressed how BET
Editor’s Note: On June 22, 2020, veteran editor and Sunwise Media co-founder Ri-Karlo Handy penned a guest column for Deadline on the wide ranging response to his social media call for Black union editors just days beforehand. As Americans took to the streets after the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd to demand an end
Matt James, who made history last year as the first Black (male) lead on one of TV’s biggest shows, The Bachelor, has had over a year to reflect on the experience and now says he sees the full scope of the opportunity lost. Given the landmark nature of his role, James says he expected the
Roku is launching Espacio Latino, a free streaming hub for Hispanic programming, on the Roku Channel. With more than 61 million active accounts as of March 31, Roku is a leading gateway for streaming, and one of its most popular offerings is the Roku Channel, a mix of free and paid on-demand and linear services
The 33rd annual GLAAD Media Awards took place in New York City tonight celebrating LGBTQ+ excellence in Hollywood. Honorees include FX’s Pose and Lil Nas X. The event is a continuation of the Los Angeles celebration that took place on April 2. The east coast ceremony was hosted by celebrity Peloton Instruction Cody Rigbsy and
Steve Coogan has spotlighted his and Sarah Solemani’s use of comedy to tackle the #MeToo debate in upcoming Channel 4 show Chivalry and talked openly about playing Jimmy Savile, stating: “Things are better talked about than not talked about.” The Philomena and Lost King star told Deadline the aim with Chivalry, which comes from his BBC Studios-backed indie Baby Cow, was to make a
Representation of female protagonists and BIPOC women in 2021’s top-grossing films have ticked up slightly, the latest study from San Diego State University’s Dr. Martha Lauzen finds. Lauzen, the executive director of SDSU’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, revealed that female The study, titled It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World, Even
It’s been a rough first two years for Bob Chapek in Disney’s top job. First came the pandemic, which started days into Chapek’s tenure as CEO, bringing the entertainment industry to a halt. With moviegoing hampered by Covid even after theaters reopened, Disney started releasing movies on streaming, which led to Chapek’s second big challenge:
UK training body ScreenSkills is actioning one of the key recommendations from Jack Thorne’s report into disability in TV by funding the training of Accessibility Co-ordinators. Similar to Intimacy and Covid Co-ordinators, the role will support TV productions in hiring and working with disabled talent and crew and support disabled professionals to work well, safely
EXCLUSIVE: Showrunner Tanya Saracho and UCP (a division of Universal Studio Group) have selected 5 inaugural fellows for the Ojalá Ignition Lab: Diana Peralta, Luca Rojas, Melba Silwany, Samantha Renee Cordero, and Stephanie Adams-Santos. Over the course of 26-weeks—beginning Jan. 10—, each fellow will have the opportunity to tell the story they want to tell
The who’s who of Asian and Asian American talent and artists gathered for an evening of celebration at the 19th annual Unforgettable Gala, nearly two years after the Covid-19 pandemic brought live and in-person events to a screeching halt. The Character Media awards show, held at the Beverly Hilton and hosted by Good Trouble actress
UK broadcasters have committed to stop using the acronym BAME “wherever possible” in favour of specificity, as recommended by a report from the Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity. In a rare joint press statement, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Viacom-owned Channel 5 said they will all try and move away from the “catch
Climate Change TV Fund Launches An organisation has been launched to help develop more TV shows and films about climate change. Climate Spring has attracted funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and Gower Street Trust and is being led by film producers James Durrant and Josh Cockroft, along with climate strategist Lucy Stone. Working
Viacom International Studios (VIS) has signed a quintet of first-look deals with emerging British talent as part of a drive to hand more opportunities to diverse creators. Morgan Bailey, Bec Boey, Chris Bush, Iman Qureshi, and Kaamil Shah will spend the next two years pitching five ideas to ViacomCBS’ in-house producer and VIS has committed
Oprah Winfrey Network and National Research Group released a survey today examining how Black women see themselves reflected in media. Among the key findings are that while strides have been made in the quantity of representation onscreen, the quality of that representation needs to reflect the true diversity of the community. Ninety three percent of
EXCLUSIVE: Sir Lenny Henry’s Banijay-backed indie Douglas Road Productions is to spotlight Caribbean culture in the UK in an upcoming BBC2 arts documentary. Deadline hears production will commence next month in London on the show, which does not yet have a title. Commissioned out of Factual/Arts Director Patrick Holland’s department, the series will explore Caribbean
Monica Raymund is celebrating Starz’ #TaketheLead initiative and the impact it’s had on diversity both on and off-screen. “We’re starting to see a change that’s happening, not just in front of the camera but also behind the camera and that’s how we shake things up,” Raymund, who stars on the cabler’s Hightown, said during Starz’
PBS on Tuesday introduced several new funding initiatives, revealed updated producing partner criteria and announced that it has hired an SVP Diversity Equity and Inclusion. The moves, revealed on the first day of the pubcaster’s TCA summer press tour slate, come as the PBS faced questions at the last TCA tour in March about its
Simone Biles took to the balance beam today at the Tokyo Olympics and proved she is every inch a true champion as the Covid conflicted NBC broadcast games head into their final days. Yet, as Emmy campaigning truly ups its game and the Delta variant brings masks and vaccination mandates across the nation, there’s a
Mj Rodriguez, a.k.a. the Mother Blanca, is finally getting her flowers at the Emmy Awards. The Pose actress, who has starred as the fierce and unapologetically ambitious and caring Blanca Evangelista, made Emmy Awards history becoming the first transgender nominee for the best actress category on Tuesday, opening the doors for more celebration of the