Today’s Premieres
discovery+: Real Life Nightmare
History: Dirty Old Cars at 10p
Nat Geo: Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller at 9p
Paramount+: Are You the One?
Roku: The Cupcake Guys
TBS: Power Slap: Road to the Title at 10p

Today’s Finales
ABC: Home Economics at 9:30p; Big Sky at 10p

IN THE NEWS

“The Drew Barrymore Show” has been renewed through the 2023-2024 season on the CBS Stations. “This season, ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ debuted a new reimagined half-hour format, which has been an undeniable success,” said Steve LoCascio, President of CBS Media Ventures. “Ratings have grown 70% year to year, and creatively, the show is better than ever.” CBS Stations anchor the show in major markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

CNN is reportedly considering more flexible formats for its 9p-11p timeslot, including a possible comedic news show with a host like Bill Maher or Trevor Noah, according to Semafor. Lending heft to the report is the success Fox News is having with its late-night satiric news show “Gutfeld!”, and CNN CEO Chris Licht’s tenure as executive producer of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Disney sent a letter to shareholders saying activist investor Nelson Peltz, who was denied a seat on its board, “does not understand Disney’s businesses and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem.” Billionaire Peltz, CEO of Trian Management, launched a bid for a board seat last week.

Nexstar Media Group is no longer allowing newscasts on its local TV stations to be streamed live for free. Moving forward, local newscasts will be available on TV stations’ websites two hours after their live airing. The change was made “to fulfill our obligations to our cable, satellite and telecom partners,” said Nexstar in a statement.

Ice hockey comedy “Shoresy” has made it to season two on Hulu. The “Letterkenny” spinoff, developed by Canada’s Bell Media for streamer Crave, heads back into production this spring in Ontario.

Black History Month call for submissions: Cynopsis is producing a guide highlighting programming coming up in February that marks Black History Month. If your company has relevant content, please send up to five programs/specials/movies along with premiere dates and times to [email protected], by January 20.

NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders is retiring after 32 years at the network. “My wife, Deborah, has been an amazing supporter, but we kind of sat and said, ‘This might be the right time,’ because during the pandemic, we weren’t going anywhere as you all know, and we realized we do really good together all the time, so maybe that is what we should do now,” said Sanders on Today.

Don’t cry for fired Disney CEO Bob Chapek. For the company’s fiscal year ended October 1, Chapek’s pay package totaled $24.18 million, and he is eligible for severance payments worth over $20 million, according to a regulatory filing. Although Disney had extended Chapek’s contract for three years in 2022, the board determined in November that amid the “rapidly evolving industry” and economic climate, Chapek was “no longer the right person” for the CEO job, and replaced him with his predecessor, Bob Iger.

Paramount has updated the key art for season two of “Mayor of Kingstown,” toning down the appearance of bloody injuries to the face of series star Jeremy Renner. The actor was hospitalized on January 1 after a snowplow accident that left him in critical condition. Renner is now recovering at home.

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

As if Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” needed more star power, Meryl Streep has joined the season three cast, joining Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Gomez broke the news on social media – no details on Streep’s role.

Sony Pictures Television announced a new, half-hour syndicated late night talk show hosted by Craig Ferguson. “Channel Surf with Craig Ferguson” will be produced by Whisper North, a division of SPT-backed production company Whisper, and distributed by SPT. In his first return to late night since exiting CBS’ “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” in 2014 after 10 seasons, Ferguson and his friends will review the shocking and surprising moments of the week’s shows. Ferguson and Whisper North Managing Director Tom McLennan will executive produce, and Richard Easter (“America’s Got Talent”) and Joe Bolter, who has worked with Ferguson for almost 15 years, will serve as writers. “I think television is ready for the return of the silly/ funny/ occasional lip-synching puppet format,” said Ferguson. “Also, it’s a TV show which contains clips of questionable moments from other TV shows thus creating a spectacular visual turducken of stupid.”

HGTV star Christina Hall (“Christina in the Country,” “Flip or Flop”) and her husband, Josh Hall, and their new production company, Unbroken, are teaming with Glass Entertainment Group’s Balthazar Entertainment on “Coastal Crazy Rich Agents.” The reality show follows former pro-skateboarder Keven Stirdiv and his family’s lavish Orange County real estate agency. “Producing my own shows on and off camera has been something I’ve enjoyed doing for years. So starting a production company with Josh has been exciting and a natural transition,” said Christina Hall. “Josh and I have loved finding new talent and working alongside the Glass Entertainment team producing fresh content.”

Comedy “Public Defenders” scored a pilot order from ABC. The 20th Television project from Eddie Quintana and McG follows four inexperienced public defenders who rely on each other to navigate an absurd court system. Quintana will write and EP with McG; Mary Viola and Corey Marsh from Wonderland Sound and Vision are also executive producing.

Also landing a pilot order is Universal Television’s “Murder by the Book,” a crime drama series from Jenna Bans (“Good Girls”) via her Minnesota Logging Company starring Retta (“Good Girls”). “Good Girls” EP Bill Krebs will write the NBC project with Bans.

A drama based on the Adam While novel The Midcoast is in development at Hulu. Written by co-creator Brett Johnson (“Escape at Dannamora”), the series about a fisherman-turned-criminal also comes from The Littlefield Company and 20th Television.

Brain Power Studio has optioned the screen adaptation rights to The Flower Girl Bride, its second option from author Dana Corbit Nussio. Nussio’s Child in a Manger (renamed “Baby in a Manger”) was licensed to UPtv in the US and, Heart & Home in Canada and UK’s Channel 5, among others.

Fantasy fan Stephen Colbert has joined the team developing and producing a series adaptation of Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber. Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Evelyn McGee Colbert, and Tom Purcell will exec produce for Colbert’s Spartina, while Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, and Rick Jacobs will exec produce for Skybound Entertainment alongside Vincent Newman.

The 35th edition of Univision music awards show “Premio lo Nuestro” will take place Thursday, February 23 at 8p, after pre-show “Noche de Estrellas” at 7p. The theme: “El Mundo Es Lo Nuestro” (The World Is Ours).

Nikki Ray Media Agency picked up the rights to Sonya Singh bestseller Sari, Not Sari, with plans to develop the story into a scripted series. The rom-com follows a woman trying to connect with her South Asian roots, while finding love in the process.

Vin Di Bona has sold a majority stake in his Vin Di Bona Productions (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) and FishBowl Worldwide Media to an investor group led by Clarion Capital Partners. Di Bona remains CEO of both companies.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Netflix’s “Perfect Match” debuts with its first four episodes on Tuesday, February 14. The dating show hosted by Nick Lachey brings together singles from other reality shows, including “Love Is Blind,” “The Mole” and “Too Hot to Handle,” among others.

“When Truth Isn’t Truth: The Rudy Giuliani Story” a four-part docu-series following the once-respected political figure’s fall from grace, premieres Sunday, February 19 at 10p. “Some love Rudy and see him as a fighter for truth. Others revile Rudy and see him as a force for the destruction of a common set of facts and truths in America,” said MSNBC Films. “But, no matter how you feel – this is Rudy, as you’ve never seen him before.” CNN’s take on the disgraced lawyer, “Giuliani: What Happened to America’s Mayor?”, debuted January 8.

“Magnum P.I.” (1980-88) is joining the GetTV lineup on February 6 at 6p, rounding out the net’s “prime time is crime time” programming. The drama will also air weekends at 10p.

STREAMING

Universal Pictures 2022 film “Violent Night” will stream exclusively on Peacock starting January 20. The action comedy follows a team of mercenaries who break into a family compound on Christmas Eve, and are forced to face off against Santa Claus.

Canela Media announced the availability of Canela Kids, a stand-alone mobile app featuring over 3,000 hours of children’s programming in Spanish. Canela Kids is available for iOS and Android for free. The app has seven channels of content with over 40 new titles including premieres, originals and co-productions.

Blue Ant Media and World of Wonder FAST channel Drag Race Universe is now available on VIZIO WatchFree+. The channel offers US audiences global versions of the “Drag Race” series. Additional platforms carrying Drag Race Universe will be announced in the coming months.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the US Soccer Federation struck a multimedia rights agreement that will make Telemundo the new exclusive Spanish-language home of the Women’s and Men’s National Teams across all platforms, including Peacock, in the US. “The US National Teams will be a cornerstone of our portfolio of premier sports franchises, multiplatform live sports offering and new IP content creation,” said Beau Ferrari, Chairman, NBCUniversal Enterprises. “We look forward to together propelling the growth of soccer in the United States and serving our audiences across all platforms, as we build toward the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 and FIFA Men’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.”

FloSports announced a multi-fight, seven-figure deal with Gordon Ryan, the submission grappler, to compete in FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One (WNO) Series. FloGrappling created the competition in 2020. Ryan, the current WNO heavyweight champion, is a five-time ADCC world champion, IBJJF world No-Gi champion, and four-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion. The submission grappler is coming off a victory on the main event of the UFC Fight Pass on December 15, defeating Nick Rodriguez in EBI OT via ride time, and will look to continue his momentum into FloGrappling’s WNO Series in 2023.

Ivan Redkach (23-6-1, 18 KOs), who was slated to fight Adrien Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight main event on February 25, has been replaced with “Hammerin” Hank Lundy (31-12-1, 14 KOs). The fight will be broadcast worldwide on BLK Prime PPV. “I’m glad they found a worthy replacement in Hank Lundy,” said Broner, from his training camp in South Florida. “Unfortunately, Redkach had to pull out, but I’m ready for whoever they put in front of me. This is the AB show and I’m on a mission to bust up everyone in my way.”

Martial arts organization ONE Championship™ inked a multi-year partnership with Monster Energy as the first-ever official energy drink partner of ONE. As part of the agreement, Monster Energy will have prominent branding in US and Asia primetime events, including having the Monster Energy logo being featured in the center of the Circle canvas, along with exclusive branding for the “Fight of the Night” and “Action Replay” segments.

The 2022-23 NHL season will culminate with NHL on TNT’s first-ever presentation of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, in addition to half of the Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round One, Round Two and Conference Finals. David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins visit 2023 NHL All Star Brock Nelson, Mathew Barzal and the NY Islanders on Wednesday, January 18, at 7:30p, while 2023 NHL all-stars Jason Robertson and Erik Karlsson go head-to-head as the Dallas Stars face the San Jose Sharks at 10p.

The National Lacrosse League is expanding its support and awareness schedule for “Every Child Matters.” The league-wide initiative brings awareness to the forcible placement of Indigenous children in residential and boarding schools by the Canadian and United States governments from the 19th century to as late as 1996 in Canada. In the campaign’s second year, all 15 teams will participate in the program, which will run from Week 9 (Jan. 23-29) through Week 11 (Feb. 6-12) of the 2022-2023 season. For the remainder of the season, players will wear specially designed helmet decals supporting “Every Child Matters.”

TECH TALK

IAB Tech Lab shared its key priorities and roadmap for 2023. The product roadmap encompasses consumer privacy, addressability and privacy enhancing technologies, advanced TV, ad supply chain, and cross-media measurement, and outlines the establishment of:
Scalable, efficient, and consistent management of cross-jurisdictional privacy regulations and compliancePost cookie and privacy-first addressability for audience activation and measurementUniversal addressability, reconciliation, and interoperability for TV advertising across streaming AVOD/FAST services, addressable linear and traditional linear TVSecure, flexible, and green programmatic supply chain for all digital advertising mediaCross-media, cross-channel, cross-environment consistent viewability verification and campaign measurement.”We are heading into a transformative year for the digital advertising sector where interoperability, transparency, and scalability will be imperative,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab. “Tech Lab has a critical responsibility to ensure that the industry works together to tackle these issues head-on. These priorities ensure that buyers and sellers can effectively work together to reach consumers efficiently, placing privacy and sustainability at the forefront.”

Horizon Media unit Night Market, focused on the direct-to-consumer retail marketplace, now has its own unit, Neon, using proprietary artificial intelligence to buy media. “[Neon is] designed to increase advertisers’ revenue by 20+% when planning and buying retail media to achieve their maximum revenue outcomes,” said the agency in a statement. “Neon starts with the sale in mind using automated predictive analytics to make investment decisions across retailers.”

COMING UP

E! is branching out into original rom-com movies. “Why Can’t My Life Be a Rom-com?”, centered on a single woman following the rules of dating from a 50-year-old self-help book, premieres Sunday, February 19 at 9; “Royal Rendezvous, centered on an East L.A. chef on the job in Ireland, debuts Sunday, February 26 at 9p; and “Married by Mistake,” about two best friends who marry on a drunken night out, arrives Sunday, March 5 at 9p.

Sally Field has been named the 58th recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. The award will be presented at the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, February 26 at 8p on Netflix’s YouTube channel.

The Paley Center for Media announced the lineup for the 40th Annual PaleyFest LA, running Friday, March 31 through Tuesday, April 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. PaleyFest LA selections for 2023 are the opening night event, Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” and the festival’s closing night selection, Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow will host a special edition of “Kudlow” on Thursday, January 19 at 4p. “Kudlow: Restoring Prosperity in America” will focus on the inflation impacting the US economy.

GOING GLOBAL

Genius Brands has signed a deal with China’s StarTimes to launch Kartoon Channel on January 31 on DTH satellite and digital terrestrial in South Africa and in 46 countries throughout the Sub-Saharan African region. The channel, dedicated to Africa, will be available to all StarTimes customers in the basic tier on DTH satellite and digital terrestrial.

Public broadcaster HRT in Croatia has closed a multi format and multi series deal with ITV Studios, which includes a commission for quiz “Beat the Chasers.” In addition, global format “The Voice” is returning to HRT, along with “The Voice Kids” for the first time.

EarthxTV, the Dallas-based television network dedicated to environmental sustainability, has partnered with Claro video to bring a slate of its current programming to audiences in Mexico.

Canada’s KO Distribution has completed a deal with France’s Mediawan Prod, who have taken the option rights for all European French speaking territories for its competitive singing competition “Zenith.”

Seoul-based Something Special has optioned the scripted series “Hostages” from Israel’s Armoza Formats. It’s the company’s first foray into the acquisition of scripted formats.

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RATINGS

The series premiere of HBO’s “The Last of Us” drew 4.7 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms on Sunday, based on Nielsen and first party data. The drama ranks as HBO’s second-highest debut, after “House of the Dragon,” since 2010.

The CW’s broadcast of 28th annual Critics’ Choice Awards delivered 900,000 viewers, the record low for an in-person ceremony. Last year the show was simulcast across The CW and TBS to an audience of 1.1 million viewers.

NBC Saturday morning series “Harlem Globetrotters: Play it Forward,” part of “The More You Know Block” in partnership with Hearst Media Production Group, has surpassed 1 million viewers since its premiere. Growth of non-white viewers on a year-over-year basis includes growth in all Black demos (all age groups, male and female), notably 55% growth in the P18-34 demo.

Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of January 3
Miss Universe (Roku), 11.2m, 280, 39,890, 19.9m
Wednesday (Netflix), 6.6m, 12, 552,164, 3.7m
Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), 2.2m, 14, 160,458, 983k
You (Netflix), 1.6m, 30, 52,649, 2.0m
And Just Like That (HBO Max), 1.5m, 4, 370,269, 920k
Euphoria (HBO Max), 952k, 6, 158,692, 8.9m
Game of Thrones (HBO Max), 604k, 5, 120,790, 39.3m
House of the Dragon (HBO Max), 582k, 5, 116,494, 3.1m
Get Organized with the Home Edit (Netflix), 522k, 23, 22,679, 7.1m
The Boys (Prime Video), 499k, 10, 49,920, 3.3mSource: Comscore Social Powered by Shareablee

EXECUTIVE MOVES

NBCUniversal Content Distribution has named Amy Geary Senior Vice President, Content Distribution. Most recently, Geary served as Vice President, Content Acquisition, Comcast.

Emily Powers has joined Hallmark Media as EVP of Streaming & Digital Platforms. Powers comes from BritBox, where she headed up the company’s North American business.

Stephen Gregory Barr has been named SVP of Non-Traditional Revenue for CBS Stations. Barr is joining from Univision Communications, where he served as VP, Business Development.

Andrea Jackson has been tapped by Plimsoll Productions to serve as Creative Director of Factual Entertainment. Jackson is transitioning from her role at Magnify Media, the independent distribution house she founded, led, and sold to Plimsoll in 2020.

Justin Wilkes has been promoted to President of Imagine Entertainment. He had been Chief Strategy Officer and President of Imagine Documentaries and Brands.

Independent Television Service CEO Sally Jo Fifer is departing the organization. “What a gift it has been these past 22 years to serve film artists who engage and transform our hearts and minds — make us more empathetic, more just, more wise,” Fifer said. “They give us hope for a better future.” Fifer will remain in her role until the ITVS board hires and onboards a new President and CEO.

Banijay Kids and Family has appointed Lizzy Gray as Brands and Marketing Director. Gray joins from eOne, where she served as Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, “My Little Pony.”

Studio 100 Media has named Alexandros Visentin as Business Development Manager / Fashion Lead. Visentin was previously Licensing Sales Manager at Bavaria Media.

Quickplay has hired Chance Mason as Head of Strategic Account Management. Mason joins Quickplay after having served as VP, Strategic Accounts and strategy for Videon.

John Osborn has been named Lead Advisor at omnichannel ad exchange Sharethrough. Osborn currently serves as Director of Coalition at Ad Net Zero.

Foundry announced seven promotions: Christian Löbering to Managing Director – Consumer; Simon Jary to SVP Consumer Worldwide; Markus Ekberg to Head of Consumer Revenue, Foundry International; Ole Evers to Global Director Affiliate; Marie Black to Editorial Director EMEA & LatAm; Jon Phillips to Editorial Director North America & APAC – Consumer; and Neil Bennett to Global Director Product & Data.

Agency Butler, Shine, Stern and Partners hired Thomas Simmons as Chief Financial and Operating Officer and Trina D. Arnett as Head of Marketing Sciences. Simmons comes to BSSP from Los York, where he served as COO, while Arnett most recently served as Assistant Professor of Analytics as the Department of Advertising, Public Relations, and Media Design at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

This Day in History
1955 – Oscar-winning “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner was born.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say was his favorite TV series? “Star Trek” (1966-69). The civil rights leader told cast member Nichelle Nichols that on the show, “For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen.” Kudos to: Mark Prince-denstu Media/NYC; Laurie UIster-Audible/NY; Andrew Goldman-Grooveee/NYC; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; John Kukla-KDFW Fox 4/Dallas; Sandy Spiegel/Chicago; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Luke Watson-Bright Moments/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which series followed a blue cat and his adopted brother, a goldfish? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)

Cynopsis Team