Apple TV Releases Trailer for ‘Severance’; Disney Plus ‘The Proud Family’ Revival (TV News Roundup)
Apple TV Plus released a trailer for “Severance,” a new workplace thriller series set to premiere Feb. 18 on the streaming platform.
From writer and creator Dan Erickson, “Severance” follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), who leads a team at Lumon Industries — where employees have undergone a “severance procedure,” which surgically divides their memories between work and personal lives. Throughout the course of the series, the mysterious and chilling “work-life balance” experiment is called into question as Mark is forced to confront reality.
More from Variety
In addition to Scott, “Severance” also stars Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus and Christopher Walken. The series, which comes from Red Hour Productions and Endevor Content, is directed by Ben Stiller. Stiller also serves as executive producer along with Mark Friedman, Chris Black, John Cameron, Andrew Colville, Nicky Weinstock and Jackie Cohn.
The first two episodes of the nine-episode series will stream on Apple TV Plus on Feb. 18, followed by weekly installments.
Watch the trailer below.
Also in today’s TV News roundup:
FIRST LOOKS
Disney Plus announced that “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” the highly-anticipated revival of Disney Channel series “The Proud Family,” will premiere on Feb. 23, with new episodes debuting Wednesdays on the streaming platform. “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” will continue to follow the story of Penny Proud, including her beloved family and friends. Cast members reprising their roles from the original series include Kyla Pratt as Penny Proud, Tommy Davidson as Oscar Proud, Paula Jai Parker as Trudy Proud, JoMarie Payton as Suga Mama and Cedric the Entertainer as Uncle Bobby. Recurring new voices include Keke Palmer as Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins, Billy Porter as Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins and Zachary Quinto as Barry Leibowitz-Jenkins. The guest cast includes Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, Normani, Leslie Odom Jr, Tiffany Haddish, Brenda Song, Eva Longoria and more. Disney Plus also released the official series trailer on Friday. Watch below.
PROGRAMMING
Disney Plus has announced three new movies and specials launching this Earth Day (April 22). “Polar Bear,” the next wildlife movie from Disneynature, will present a story of motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today, narrated by Catherine Keener (“Capote”). “Explorer: The Last Tepui,” the newest installment of National Geographic’s “Explorer” series, is set to follow climber Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”) and a team led by Mark Synnott on a mission in the Amazon jungle as they attempt to deliver biologist Bruce Means to the top of a tepui (also known as an “island in the sky”). Finally, “The Biggest Little Farm: The Return” is a special based on the 2018 documentary about the making of Apricot Lane Farms. All of the upcoming Earth Day programming can be found in the Earth Month collection on Disney Plus.
EXECUTIVES
WarnerMedia’s TNets (TBS, TNT and TruTV) announced several executive promotions and appointments across its development, program strategy and marketing teams on Tuesday. Jenny Ramirez was elevated to senior vice president for unscripted programming, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Drew Uhrig is now vice president of scripted programming, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Joel McLean has been promoted to vice president of programming strategy and operations at TBS. Brad Kramer has been elevated to vice president of programming strategy and operations, overseeing all business operations across TBS, TNT and TruTV. Finally, Natali Johnson has been promoted to vice president in program marketing and branding, where she will oversee marketing campaigns across TBS, TNT and TruTV.
BET has appointed Brian Rikuda as the executive vice president of enterprise growth strategy, business operations and programming strategy. In his new role, Rikuda will report to BET president and CEO Scott Mills as he leads BET’s Enterprise and Business group, as well as oversee BET’s scheduling, acquisitions, and research teams. Rikuda was most recently an associate partner at McKinsey & Company, where he co-led the west coast McKinsey Black Network. Before that, Rikuda founded a hip-hop record label and a cloud-based software app development company.
LATE NIGHT
Ricky Gervais, Maude Apatow, Kaytranada and H.E.R. will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday, while Rob Lowe, Francia Raisa and Joy Oladokun will be on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will feature Brian Cox and Samantha Bee.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.