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Stars: Joel Ezra Hebner, Sara Wolfkind, Callan Farris, Usman Ally, Shannyn Sossamon, Tate Moore | Written and Directed by John Ross

Grimcutty begins with a young boy, his hands and wrists covered in bandaids, sneaking out of his room as his mover reads articles about internet challenges. As he makes his way downstairs and gets a knife a half-glimpsed figure, Grimcutty, slips into the house. The boy then stabs his mother, apparently at the creature’s command.

After that we meet our main characters, Asha Chaudhry, her younger brother Kamran, and their parents Leah and Amir. Asha has recently quit the track team to devote her time to creating Asmr videos.

Rather than encourage her they blame “internet addiction” for her decision. Which leads to mandatory phone-free outings and other measures. Of course, they don’t give up their group chats, one of which warns them about something called the “Grimcutty...

There’s a compelling kernel of something interesting at the heart of Grimcutty, the new Hulu film by writer/director John Ross. The film is a treatise on hysterical helicopter parents, the dangers of social media challenges and the growing concern about how much screen time is healthy. These are valid (albeit not entirely new) concerns, and horror is a great lens through which to explore them.

The issue isn’t Grimcutty’s premise, but rather its execution. This is a messy film, complete with substantial logic gaps, more than one scenery-chewing performance, and a run time that isn’t earned by its relatively thin, repetitive script.

The film opens solidly: mother Melinda Jaynes (Alona Tal) locks her young son Brandon (Kayden Alexander Koshelev) in his bedroom at night, seemingly in an effort to protect him from the lurking figure of Grimcutty (Joel Ezra Hebner) outside. When Brandon sneaks out...

The ABC single-camera comedy pilot “Adopted” is no longer moving forward at the broadcaster, Variety has learned.

The project was a holdover from the 2020 pilot season that was delayed due to the pandemic. It hailed from the team of Shawn Vance, Daril Fannin, and Jimmy Kimmel. In the show, when a Green Beret (Vance) returns home to Texas from military service, he and his family struggle with the challenges of adopting his new brother, a 12-year-old Russian boy.

Along with Vance, the pilot starred Bruce Campbell, Wendie Malick, Maxim Swinton, Tate Moore, Sofia Pernas, and Reyn Doi. It was inspired by a true story. ABC Signature produced along with Kimmelot. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the pilot may be shopped to other outlets.

This is not the first ABC project to get passed over this pilot season. It was reported in April that a mutli-camera series...

Exclusive: ABC has set the cast for Adopted, its single-camera comedy pilot co-written and executive produced by Jimmy Kimmel. Series co-creator Shawn Vance (The Green Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse), whose life inspired the series, will star as himself, along with Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead franchise) and Hot in Cleveland alum Wendie Malick. Also cast as series regulars in the pilot are Maxim Swinton (Halston), Tate Moore (Beautiful Dreamer), Sofia Pernas (Blood & Treasure) and Reyn Doi (Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar). The comedy hails from ABC Studios and Kimmelot, Kimmel’s joint venture with Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse Entertainment.

Written and executive produced by Kimmel and The Green Beret’s Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse creators, executive producers and stars Vance and Daril Fannin, Adopted is inspired by a true story. In it, when a Green Beret (Vance) returns home to Texas from military service, he...

Bryce Charles (Black-ish) and newcomer Tate Moore have booked series-regular roles in Woman Up, ABC’s comedy pilot from Life in Pieces star Zoe Lister-Jones, Single Parents co-creator Liz Meriwether, Jason Winer and Single Parents producer 20th Century Fox TV.

Written and directed by Lister-Jones, Woman Up is about two former teen moms, played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Tawny Newsome, who have worked their asses off to see their daughters all the way through high school graduation. And now, at 35, they’re ready to make up for the youth they never had.

Charles will play young Liz (Ellis), and Charles is young Phoebe (Newsome).

Cast also includes previously announced series regulars Abby Quinn, Gabrielle Elyse, Kym Whitley and Leon Thomas.

Charles’ TV credits include Fuller House, Teachers and Black-ish, and she just finished shooting a recurring role on Netflix’s Tales of the City. She’s currently starring as...