World Screen

NEW YORK: The comedian Hannibal Buress has inked a multiplatform development deal with Comedy Central, in a wide-ranging pact that sees, among other things, the creation of an original one-hour stand-up special. The agreement also includes Buress’s recurring role on the unscripted series Broad City, a commitment for a pilot …

UNIVERSAL CITY: David Janollari, whose credits include shows such as Friends, Six Feet Under and Supernatural, is setting up a new production company through an exclusive deal with Universal Television. Janollari was most recently the head of programming at MTV. Prior to this he was the president of The WB …

NEW YORK: News Corporation’s board of directors has formally approved the separation of the business into two distinct publicly traded companies: 21st Century Fox and the new News Corporation. The split is expected to be complete on June 28. After the complete separation, the board of directors for 21st Century …

PREMIUM: Marion Edwards, the president of international television at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, talks about the success of Homeland, The Americans, the studio’s extensive scripted formats business and how technology has transformed the international television business. WS: How much has the international distribution business changed over the past ten …

NEW YORK: Anthony Zuiker, the creator of the CSI franchise, is executive producing the new prime-time reality show Whodunnit?, a competition series for ABC that will be accompanied by digital books that extend the story lines. Hyperion is on board to publish a series of Whodunnit? mysteries. The first, Whodunnit?: …

ENGLEWOOD: The latest in a series of apps for DISH’s Hopper Whole-Home HD DVR is called Social, which gives viewers the option to join in social conversations about the shows they are watching. The Social app allows customers to link up to four Twitter and four Facebook accounts. Viewers can choose …

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Rob Lowe has been cast as President John F. Kennedy in the upcoming factual drama Killing Kennedy, while Ginnifer Goodwin stars opposite as First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Rounding out the cast is Michelle Trachtenberg, taking on the Russian-speaking role of Marina Oswald. The TV event is being produced by …

BURBANK: ABC Family is on board for an expanded third season and a fourth season of Melissa & Joey, which will become the network’s first comedy to reach 100 episodes. The third season of Melissa & Joey, which stars Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, debuts on ABC Family today. …

LOS ANGELES: BoPaul Media Worldwide has sold ten films from its catalogue, including Zulu Dawn and Ashanti, in the U.S. and Germany. In Germany, Subkultur Entertainment scored the home-video rights for a handful of productions featuring Spanish horror movie veteran Paul Naschy. These titles include Horror Rises from the Tomb, Vengeance …

SARATOGA: Roku has been given a $60 million investment to put toward the growth of its streaming software and services businesses, with a leading institutional investor and Hearst Corporation joining prior investors such as BSkyB and News Corp. Along with growing distribution for its platform, Roku will be focused on …