The Biggest Stories of the Week From Our Reporters
John Mayer Closing In on Deal to Host ‘Later’ Talk Show
John Mayer is nearing a deal with Paramount Plus to host a talk and performance series based on the format of the BBC’S long-running “Later With Jools Holland.” Sources tell Variety that “Later With John Mayer” has been pitched to prospective broadcast partners as a series featuring performance segments as well as interviews with musicians, artists and other cultural figures in a setting designed to look like an after-hours club for musicians. The series would run as a weekly offering on Paramount Plus, with specials derived from the show’s performance segments to air periodically on CBS. — Shirley Halperin, Cynthia Littleton
‘Vanderpump Rules’ to Start Season 9
More than months after cameras last rolled on “Vanderpump Rules,” and after several seismic firings in the off-season that have changed the main cast, the Bravo docu-soap is scheduled to begin filming its ninth season in May. This announcement flies in the face of the widely disseminated misinformation in blogs that the show had been scrapped forever. There had also been speculation that Bravo might change the program’s name, but nope — “Vanderpump Rules” it is. Filming the ninth season was contingent on Los Angeles opening up when the COVID- pandemic started to ebb, since the show is reliant on Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurants being open. — Kate Aurthur
Marveldisney Plus’ ‘Ironheart’ Sets Head Writer
The “Ironheart” series at Disney Plus has tapped Chinaka Hodge to serve as head writer. The show will star Dominique Thorne as Marvel character Riri Williams, a genius inventor and the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. The show was announced as being in development during Disney’s investor day presentation in December. Hodge is a screenwriter, a poet, a playwright and an educator. Her television writing credits include the Apple reboot of “Amazing Stories,” as well as the TNT series adaptation of “Snowpiercer” starring Daveed Diggs. She has published two books of poetry to date, “For Girls With Hips: Collected Poems and Writings” and “Dated Emcees.” — Joe Otterson
Emilia Fox to Star in Acorn TV Detective Drama
British actor Emilia Fox (“Silent Witness”) is set to star as a disillusioned U.K. spy who becomes a sleuth in Italy in “Signora Volpe,” a detective drama commissioned by AMC Networks’ Acorn TV that will start shooting in Italy in May. The show, comprising three ¡-minute installments, is being produced by ITV Studios-backed production company Route ¢£, with Italy’s Itv-owned Cattleya providing the Italian production service. Fox will play Sylvia, an MI¤ operative who goes to a village in Umbria to visit her sister, where she becomes involved in a murder investigation. — Nick Vivarelli