Salt Lake City police confirmed the death to Variety, saying they originally responded to an overdose call on Monday, but then it became a death investigation
Cosby Jr. has been an occasional presence on the Bravo series, discussing his experimentation with drugs with his mother on several episodes. She has also expressed her disappointment with him getting secretly married during the run of the show, as well as his legal issues.
Cosby debuted as an original cast member on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” in 2020. She did not shoot for the film’s third season, but returned for the fourth as a “friend of,” before returning to the main cast for its fifth season. The show just wrapped its sixth season.
In today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, in our Cover Story segment, Variety’s Brent Lang takes a long look at Disney’s incoming CEO Josh D’Amaro and the challenges that await the parks and experiences veteran as he takes the helm of the Mouse House next month.
Famously, “Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie is great at accents. His Russian is especially popular, which the actor pulled off to play a convincingly Slavic Ilya Rozanov in the hit series.
Now, ahead of Storrie’s gig as “Saturday Night Live” host on Feb. 28, the actor put his language chops to the test in a hilarious accent duel against cast member James Austin Johnson.
“And by the way, the Russian accent was awesome,” Marcello Hernández says to Storrie, who responds, “Thanks, I actually do all kinds of accents!” The mere mention of the subject summons Johnson, who rolls up ready to defend his honor as the accent authority at “SNL.”
The two face off, putting on their best German (Storrie sips a beer while quipping about the ease at which he can slip into the pronunciation), Cajun, French, Italian and even Shakespearean accents. (After hearing Storrie’s Shakespeare, his next role might just need to be a reimagining of one of the Bard’s works.)
Hernández also asks them both to do their best Jamaican accent, which Storrie and Johnson politely decline: “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Storrie stammers.
And while the two continue to go back and forth, it’s Storrie’s hailed Russian accent that wins the duel for him. “When you get to hell, tell them Rozanov sent you,” he says in reference to his beloved “Heated Rivalry” character, before using his finger pistol to shoot down Johnson.
Feb. 28 will mark Storrie’s “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut. While the rest of the skits are still tightly under wraps, if they’re anything like this, fans are sure to be delighted.
The show’s musical guest will be Mumford & Sons, who are promoting their upcoming album, “Prizefighter,” set to be released on Feb. 20.
The CW has set the Season 4 premiere date for the drama “Sullivan’s Crossing,” which will return April 20, airing from 8 to 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Per the official logline, the 10-episode fourth season finds “Maggie Sullivan’s (Morgan Kohan) life at the Crossing is finally taking shape having decided on a new direction for her career and a renewed commitment to Cal (Chad Michael Murray). That is, until Maggie’s ex-husband, Liam (Marcus Rosner), arrives with a shocking revelation which only upends Maggie’s life once again and causes Cal to question whether Maggie will ever truly be able to leave her past behind.”
“Sullivan’s Crossing” is adapted for television by showrunner Roma Roth and executive produced by Roth, Christopher E. Perry, Aren Prupas and Carr, along with additional producing partners. All episodes of Season 4 will be available to stream next day on the CW App, with Fremantle handling international distribution.
Watch the teaser below.
PROGRAMMING
“Reading Rainbow” is expanding its revival. Sony Pictures Television has ordered 24 additional episodes of the children’s literacy series, with host Mychal Threets set to return. Emmy Award-winning kids TV producer Kristen McGregor has joined the series as executive producer and showrunner.
Produced by Embassy Row in association with Buffalo Toronto Public Media, the new episodes will continue the franchise’s long-standing mission of encouraging a love of reading among young viewers. Sony Pictures Television will produce and distribute the series. Shortened versions of episodes will also be released on Kidzuko, Sony’s kids-focused YouTube channel launched in 2024.
The revival debuted last fall with four episodes on Kidzuko, which have amassed more than 4.79 million views to date. Additional celebrity guests and featured books for the new episodes will be announced at a later time.
McGregor’s credits include “Sesame Street,” “Ms. Rachel” and “Blippi’s Treehouse.” She is also moderating a panel at Kidscreen Summit on Feb. 23 focused on evolving partnerships in the kids content space.
The original “Reading Rainbow” premiered in 1983 and became a cornerstone of educational television, using storytelling to help foster literacy and imagination.
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Fox Sports has picked up “You See L.A.,” a new one-hour documentary special set to premiere March 1 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, timed to coincide with the start of Women’s History Month.
The film is produced by AV8 Productions, Allez! Sports and Hello Sunshine, and centers on the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball program’s historic 2024–25 season, which culminated in the team’s first-ever Final Four appearance. In addition to revisiting that landmark run, the documentary weaves in moments from the current season as the story of the Bruins continues to unfold.
“You See L.A.” features head coach Cori Close and standout players Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez, capturing the team’s postseason run.
The film also highlights the program’s connection to the Los Angeles community and includes appearances by UCLA alumni and basketball legends Ann Meyers Drysdale, Reggie Miller and Candace Parker.
“You See L.A.” will air immediately following the UCLA–USC women’s basketball matchup and is presented by Authentic Asia.
FIRST LOOKS/TRAILERS
Apple TV has released the first look at Season 2 of the animated preschool series“Wonder Pets: In The City,” which premieres on March 20.
The showfollows a trio of classroom pets: Izzy the Guinea Pig, Zuri the Bunny and Tate the Snake, as they embark on adventures around New York City and the world, traveling in their “Jetcar” to rescue animals in musical, mini-opera-themed adventures.
Produced by Nickelodeon Animation, “Wonder Pets: In the City” is developed by Emmy winner Jennifer Oxley, who serves as executive producer alongside Steve Altiere, and co-executive producer Jeffrey Lesser.
The new series features the voices of Victoria Scola-Giampapa as Izzy, Vanessa Huszar as Zuri, and Christopher Sean Cooper Jr. as Tate.
This music-forward series also features composers including Bobby Lopez, Jason Robert Brown, Georgia Stitt, Matthew Sklar, Larry Hochman, Zina Goldrich, and Natsumi Osawa, accompanied by the FILMharmonic Orchestra.
CASTING
Comedian and actor Druski is set to appear as a special commentator on the upcoming season of NBC’s “The Voice: Battle of Champions.”
The 29th season premieres on Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock. The show is hosted by Carson Daly and features a coaching panel consisting of Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Adam Levine.
Druski will serve as the series’ first-ever commentator and will “offer unique takes on the coaches’ strategy as they vie for the win,” including tracking “Triple Turn Competition” and “Super Steal” among the coaches. A line-up of NBA players will also join him throughout the competition.
Druski first rose to fame with his “Coulda Been Records” sketches on YouTube and Instagram Live, later self-producing shows, and completing a national headlining comedy tour.
“The Voice” comes from MGM Television, Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, a Warner Bros. Television Group, and ITV Studios , The Voice USA, Inc. The series was created by John de Mol, who serves as an executive producer along with Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson, Adam H. Sher and Barry Poznick.
AWARDS
June Squibb, Kari Wahlgren, Rachel and Aron Accurso and Amber Riley are among the presenters who will take the stage at the 4th Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards (CAFE), the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Tuesday. The awards will take place on March 2 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
John Tartaglia, a multi-award-winning actor, director, writer, puppeteer, producer and creator for television and theater, will host the awards and Regina Spektor will perform. Robert Picardo (“Star Trek: Voyager”) will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Bill Nye at the CAFE Honors Ceremony on March 1.
Other presenters will include Jennifer Barnhart and “Zoe” (“Sesame Street”), Monique Coleman (“High School Musical”), Frankie Cordero and “Purple Panda” (“Donkey Hodie”), Stephanie D’Abruzzo and “Duck Duck” (“Donkey Hodie”), Ava Joyce McCarthy (“The Primrose Railway Children”), Bill Nye (“Lifetime Achievement Honoree”), Tori Prentice and Adrianna Walker (“Harlem Ice”), Chanel Stewart (“Win or Lose”). Original “Avenue Q” Broadway cast members Tartaglia, d’Abruzzo and Barnhart will present together. Alyssa Tucker (“Live From Snacktime”) is the red carpet correspondent.
CAFE spotlights the pinnacle of creativity and innovation in children’s entertainment. The ceremonies will be streamed live on watch.theemmys.tv and through The Emmys apps (apps.theemmys.tv).
TRAILERS
Netflix has released a trailer and key art for “Homicide New York” Season 2, set to release on the platform on March 25. The season will consist of five 60-minute episodes.
Season 2 of the series, which Netflix describes as “a docu-series that illuminates some of the most notorious crimes from the city that never sleeps,” “an elite team of NYPD detectives relive the homicide investigations that defined their careers.”
Adam Kassen directed the season, with Dick Wolf, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Adam Kassen, Tom Thayer, Nan Strait and Dan Volpe executive producing. Wolf Entertainment & Alfred Street Industries served as the production company.
Jake Johnson is set to star in Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici’s private investigator comedy pilot at NBC, Variety has learned.
In addition, Akiva Schaffer (“The Naked Gun,” “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”) has boarded the pilot as director and executive producer.
Few plot details are available for the untitled single-camera show, with the logline simply stating the pilot “Continues the proud tradition of Los Angeles private eyes that began with Philip Marlowe and will end with this show.” It was picked up to pilot at NBC in January.
Johnson’s character is named Mickey. He is described as “Smart, cynical and heartbroken, but trying to pretend he’s not, Mickey is a private investigator with a knack for solving cases. Formerly an LAPD cop until his life imploded three years ago.”
Whether or not Johnson’s private eye character will be hard-boiled, soft-boiled, or even poached remains to be seen.
Johnson is best known for playing the curmudgeonly Nick Miller in the popular Fox sitcom “New Girl.” The show aired for seven seasons between 2011 and 2018. He has since starred in shows like the animated comedy “Hoops” at Netflix and the 1970s porn magazine comedy “Minx” at HBO Max/Starz. Next up, he has the series “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” at Apple TV. In film, Johnson is known for his work in the hit “Spider-Verse” animated film franchise as well as for features like “Let’s Be Cops,” “Jurassic World,” “Ride the Eagle,” and “Self Reliance.” He also wrote and produced the latter two films, with Johnson making his feature directorial debut with “Self Reliance.”
Johnson is repped by UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Goor and Del Tredici are co-writing and executive producing the pilot. Schaffer will executive produce, with Johnson producing in addition to starring. Universal Television is the studio.
This is not the only pilot about a private investigator presently in the works at NBC. The Peacock network is also prepping a reboot of “The Rockford Files,” with David Boreanaz attached to play Jim Rockford.
Mara Brock Akil remembers the moment she gained the confidence to become a showrunner with the precision of someone who has turned it over in her mind a few thousand times.
She was not long out of Northwestern University, working as a writer’s trainee on the buzzy Fox dramedy “South Central” in 1994. The series, from writer-producers Ralph Farquhar and Michael J. Weithorn, attracted a hotshot writing staff — and on this afternoon all but one of them were preoccupied with other projects.
Brock Akil sat in a nearly empty writers’ room with Weithorn and one other scribe. Weithorn noticed Brock Akil had a lot of notes in the margins of the script she was holding.
“‘Mara, if there’s ever a time you have a thought, now would be it,’” Brock Akil recalls Weithorn saying. “He saw the script — and he goes, ‘You could read any of that on there.’”
Brock Akil was in fact the picture-perfect writer to contribute to “South Central,” having grown up in Compton. A love of writing drove her to earn a degree in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. After graduating, she returned to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment — specifically television writing, at a time when the field wasn’t very welcoming to Black women. But that was changing.
Weithorn “gave me that one permission that was critical, just to hear my voice in that room. He provided space and made it safe for me to give my voice when the world said, ‘Don’t do that.’”
Brock Akil made the most of the wings she grew that day on “South Central.” On Feb. 28, the showrunner and creator — known for such series as “Girlfriends,” CW and BET’s “The Game,” BET’s “Being Mary Jane” and most recently, Netflix’s Judy Blume adaptation “Forever” — will be recognized with the Norman Lear Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America. She’ll receive the kudo at the 37th annual Producers Guild Awards in Century City. In addition, Amy Pascal will be honored with the David O. Selznick Achievement Award; Jason Blum, producer and CEO of the prosperous Blumhouse film and TV banner, will receive the Milestone Award for his contributions to the industry.
After “South Central,” Brock Akil wound up working for Farquhar on the UPN sitcom “Moesha.” She had no shortage of story ideas for the domestic comedy that she steadily pitched in the writers’ room. Farquhar had a habit of telling her, gently, “Save it for your pilot.” Finally, one of the ideas that she couldn’t stop pitching became the basis of Brock Akil’s first hit series, UPN/CW’s “Girlfriends” (2000-2008).
In the 1990s and early aughts, “the culture around making TV was so beautiful. It was so team-oriented and team-spirited,” Brock Akil says. “And having the audience right there can be the arbiter of a note. You can use the audience to help you on different things because sometimes with a script you just don’t know until you know.”
Brock Akil is juggling multiple project including Season 2 of “Forever.” She’s also focused on working with the next generation of writers and creators, many of whom haven’t had the kind of early-career writing and producing experiences that shaped her into an A-list showrunner.
“I had a safe place to watch and to understand and to apply all of that knowledge,” she says. Now, it’s important to Brock Akil that everyone working on her shows appreciates the privilege of telling stories that travel around the world.
“It never misses me how many people get to put their fingerprints on it. So I’m very proud, whether it’s 100 people helping us do a show or whether it’s around 400 with ‘Forever,’” Brock Akil says. “Four hundred families are affected by this one story that you sit down and you make. I can’t think of a better way to organize and work — economically, for the community. I think TV is a collaborative art form that really celebrates human ingenuity, integrity, intention, imagination, creativity, just hard fucking work — and coffee and matcha.”
Dillard Bassett made her “Real Housewives” debut in 2018, joining the cast of “Real Housewives of Potomac” during Season 3 of the Bravo series. She remained on the series for six seasons, departing in 2024 following Season 8.
On the Emmy-winning Peacock show “The Traitors,” which premiered earlier this year, Dillard Bassett added a competition series to her résumé, being tapped as a Traitor alongside fellow “Real Housewives” alum Lisa Rinna and “Love Island” star Rob Rausch. She was banished in Episode 8, after going toe to toe with Rausch, whom she memorably called a “snake.”
A multi-hyphenate entertainer, Dillard Bassett’s career has extended to the world of scripted television, where she was a series regular for two season of ALLBLK/WeTV’s drama series “Hush,” Netflix’s “Family Reunion” and BET’s “The Christmas Lottery.”
In 2021, Dillard Bassett released “Deep Space,” her debut album (and headlined a tour for it). The ‘90s R&B-inspired album earned Billboard chart recognition, and “Drive Back,” the lead single, has amassed millions of streams. She’s toured with Live Nation and Femme It Forward, and made an appearance on Tamar Braxton’s “Love and War 10th Anniversary Tour.”
She’s also an entrepreneur, having co-founded a beauty and lifestyle brand portfolio and co-hosting the “Undomesticated” podcast in partnership with Audacy. Dillard Bassett was Miss United States 2013, but she began her career in public service as a former White House staffer.
She will continue to be represented by Nyerere Davidson.
Former Legendary Entertainment exec Deborah Kaufmann has joined Sipur Studios as its new chief of global content. The position is new for the studio, which recently added former Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone as part of its management team as chair.
At Sipur, Kaufmann will handle development projects, as well as finding IP for the studio, acquisitions and creative partnerships in film, TV and publishing.
Kaufmann previously served as senior VP of literary affairs at Legendary, overseeing IP acquisitions for its film and TV divisions, along with its European joint ventures. Projects she bought in included “Alchemised,” and Annie Jacobsen’s “Nuclear War” (for filmmaker Denis Villeneuve).
“Whether in publishing or in film and television, Deborah’s career has been defined by identifying exceptional stories and the people behind them, and ensuring those stories travel powerfully across borders,” Sipur CEO Emilio Schenker said in a statement. “She is an extraordinary addition to our studio. Deborah brings to us unmatched talent, achievement and industry stature, and with her addition to our team we have gained tremendous strength in realizing our broader ambition of becoming a significant global film and television studio.”
Recent Sipur projects include Netflix’s “Bad Boy,” the medical thriller “Heart of a Killer,” the Emmy-winning doc feature “We Will Dance Again,” the docuseries “Munich ’72” and the World War II series “Etty.” Film projects include Paul Schrader’s “Oh Canada,” the Marc Maron doc “Are We Good?” and the Cristin Milioti horror feature “Buddy.”
“Sipur has cemented its place in the industry as a destination studio for some of the most brilliant creative minds in storytelling today, and I am thrilled to join former Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone, Emilio and their stellar team at such a pivotal moment,” Kaufman said. “I look forward to building on these impressive achievements and bringing my deep commitment to cross-cultural storytelling to further champion the company’s bold and original work, which has already positioned Sipur as a true tastemaker on the global stage.”
Fast forward to 2026, and she’s earned an Oscar nomination for her work on Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” — making history, too, as the first woman of color to be nominated in the cinematography category.
In the history of the category, no woman has ever won the Oscar for cinematography, and only three women have ever been nominated: Rachel Morrison in 2018 for “Mudbound,” Ari Wegner in 2021 for “The Power of the Dog” and Mandy Walker in 2022 for “Elvis.”
Arkapaw, who is of Filipino and Creole descent, is nominated alongside Adolpho Veloso (“Train Dreams”), Michael Bauman (“One Battle After Another,” Dan Laustsen (“Frankenstein”) and Darius Khondji (“Marty Supreme”).
“I thought how special it would be for in the future someone to look up this nomination, because I’m the fourth woman. And I know the ones that came before me,” she says.
With Arkapaw’s work drawing attention, she said she was grateful for the opportunity to continue opening doors for more representation in cinematography and to be an inspiration for female cinematographers. “It means the world when young girls, or film students of similar heritage, come up to me and express their gratitude, not just for the work, but for the fact that they can see someone like themselves behind the camera.”
As for collaborating with Coogler, Arkapaw says he puts women on a platform. Not just on “Sinners” but on his previous films. “He has done that in the past and now – all of the heads of department that made this film, being women of color, and I think that’s so important.” Those department heads include costume designer Ruth E. Carter, production designer Hannah Beachler and hair designer Shunika Terry. All landed Oscar nominations. Arkapaw goes on to say, “He believes in you so much and on the highest level, with or without accolades, he’s there for you.”
Former “The Walking Dead” showrunner Angela Kang is set as writer and executive producer on “Never to Be Found,” a psychological thriller TV series in the works at Amazon MGM Studios.
Per the description for the series adaptation, “Never to Be Found” “is a psychological thriller that weaves together themes of disappearance, identity, obsession, and the long shadow of trauma. The novel alternates between present-day Brighton/York and flashbacks to Japan and London, following protagonist Veronica Page as she becomes entangled with a suspected murderer while confronting her own painful past.”
Currently in the development stage, “Never to Be Found” is based on an upcoming novel by “The Confession” author Jo Spain, which is set to release July 2 in the UK.
Kang will write and executive produce the project alongside her Kang & Co Entertainment producing partner Mandy Safavi. Spain is also an executive producer.
Currently under a multi-year overall deal at Amazon MGM Studios, Kang is also writing and producing a book-to-TV-series adaptation of R.F. Kuang’s fantasy novel “Katabasis.” Previously, Kang was developing Amazon’s now-scrapped “Silk: Spider Society” live-action series. She formerly served as showrunner of “The Walking Dead” and is an executive producer on one of AMC’s ongoing spinoff series, “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.”
Kang is repped by Dave Park and Gina Reyes at UTA, A.B. Fischer at Literate, and PJ Shapiro at JSSK.
“Never to Be Found” author Spain is repped by Nicola Barr at Rye Literary and Will Peterson at Independent Talent Group, and Mary Darby of Darby Literary for translation.
