PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Animal Planet green-lit a second season of Crikey! It’s the Irwins. The series shares the work of the Irwin family, Terri, Bindi and Roberts, as they continue Steve Irwin’s mission to bring people close to animals and inspire wildlife conservation. “I am incredibly honored to be continuing Steve’s legacy and to be encouraging everyone to take a stand to help protect wildlife and wild places,” said Terri Irwin.
National Geographic Films green-lit Rebuilding Paradise from Ron Howard and Imagine Documentaries. The film will follow the community of Paradise, CA, as it attempts to rebuild following the devastation of the 2018 California wildfires.
AMC renewed unscripted series Ride with Norman Reedus for a fourth season just ahead of its season three premiere on Sunday, February 10, at 12a. The show’s entire third season will be available early to AMC Premiere customers on Friday, February 8.
Netflix picked up a 10-episode fourth season of F Is for Family, the animated series form Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Television and Gaumont Television. Created by Bill Burr and Michael Price (The Simpsons), the show is set in the 1970s.
YouTube Premium ordered a second season of Liza on Demand. The half-hour comedy, created by and starring Liza Koshy, follows the misadventures Liza happens on while taking on various tasks and odd jobs. Production begins in the spring and the show will premiere later this year.
NBC has green-lit a Friends-In-Law pilot, again. The comedy, from The McCarthys creator and EP Brian Gallivan, Tom Werner and Warner Bros. TV, was originally ordered to pilot and developed by the network last season. Written by Gallivan, the project follows Brian and Jake, polar opposites who must figure out how to co-exist when their respective best friends decide to get married.
George & George, run by Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine in association with Alan Partridge producer Baby Cow, is developing a TV series based on the best-selling novel Old Baggage, according to Deadline. Written by Lissa Evans, the book explores the legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and one woman’s determination to create a meaningful present in the wake of her own revolutionary past.
USA Network picked up Briarpatch, an anthology drama starring Rosario Dawson (Jane the Virgin). The first season is based on Ross Thomas’ novel of the same name. It follows Allegra “Pick” Dill (Dawson), a determined investigator who returns to her corrupt Texas hometown after her sister is murdered.
The Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival will take center stage at NYC’s SVA Theatre on March 6, showcasing outstanding attention-grabbing storytelling across platforms. Click here to view finalists and grab your tickets.
Time and Verizon’s immersive entertainment studio Ryot teamed to produce a virtual reality experience about Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Titled The March, the project will be shown in museums across the country next year.
Telemundo International Studios and Movistar+ struck a multiyear co-production partnership to produce premium limited series for the U.S. and international markets. Telemundo Network will have exclusive rights for the U.S., while Movistar+ nabbed exclusive rights for Spain.
Kew Media Group invested in Alan Clements’ British production company Two Rivers Media. Kew Media purchased a stake in the business along with Scottish media bank Noble Grossart and British broadcaster C4. Kew also secured the option to acquire a controlling stake in the company.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry returns to E! on Thursday, February 21, at 8p. The show’s fourth season features reading with celebrities including Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara, Rebel Wilson and more.
Valerie Bertinelli hosts families facing off in a fast-paced culinary competition in Food Network’s Family Food Showdown. The new series debuts Sunday, March 3, at 8p.
Abby’s debuts Thursday, March 28, at 9:30p on NBC. The new 10-episode mid-season comedy stars Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation, Trophy Wife) as a bar owner who has found her true calling.
The Pacific premieres Thursday, February 14, at 10p on Ovation. The six-part documentary follows Sam Neill as he journeys to the world’s largest ocean 250 years after Captain James Cook began his epic exploration.
TV One’s original true crime programming kicks off on Monday, January 28, with premiere episodes of Fatal Attraction at 9p and For My Man at 10p.
Fuse Media premieres Fuse Films, a franchise that spotlights independent movies about and by members of underserved communities. The new series begins with Venus, a romantic comedy about a South Asian transgender woman whose life is flipped when she meets the “white” teenaged son she didn’t know she had, on Wednesday, May 1.
AWARDS UPDATES
The 25th annual SAG Awards revealed its second group of presenters for its Sunday, January 27, ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. Taking the stage will be Awkwafina, Alec Baldwin, Matt Bomer, Laverne Cox, Richard Madden, Ricky Martin, Tracy Morgan, Chris Pine and Keri Russell. The ceremony, hosted by Megan Mullally, airs live on TNT and TBS at 8p.
Miley Cyrus, Brandi Carlile, H.E.R. and a Red Hot Chili Peppers–Post Malone combo are part of the next wave of artists set to perform at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. Live from Staples Center and hosted by Alicia Keys, the event airs Sunday, February 10, at 8p.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences released the drama performer pre-nominations for the 46th Daytime Emmy Awards. CBS’ The Young and the Restless leads the pack with 21, followed by ABC’s General Hospital with 20, NBC’s Days of Our Lives with 19 and CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful with 13.
COMING UP
Oxygen Media debuts Seduced by Evil, the true story of professional con man Derek Alldred, on Saturday, February 9, at 8p.
Classic holiday special Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown returns to TV on ABC on Friday, February 8, at 8p. The net is also airing Valentine’s Day-themed episodes of several series, including The Kids Are Alright, black-ish and Splitting Up Together on Tuesday, February 5, at 8:30p, 9p and 9:30p, The Rookie on Tuesday, February 12, at 10p, and The Goldbergs and Single Parents on Wednesday, February 13, at 8p and 9:30p.
Comedian Tone Bell takes the stage in his first stand-up special, Tone Bell: Can’t Cancel This, premiering Friday, February 22, at 10p on Showtime. The hourlong special was filmed at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas.
CASTING
Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) and Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) have joined the cast of BBC and Amazon comedy Fleabag… Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU) and Elizabeth Reaser (The Haunting of Hill House) will recur in The Handmaid’s Tale’s upcoming third season on Netflix… Dustin Ingram (Sun Records) named a key recurring role on upcoming HBO drama series Watchmen… Actor-dancer-model Ava Michelle nabbed a starring role in Netflix’s upcoming high school comedy movie Tall Girl.
DIGITAL DATA
Amazon Prime Video is set to launch its first stand-up comedy special, Jim Gaffigan’s Quality Time, later this year. It will be Gaffigan’s seventh such special, five of which were on Netflix.
Instagram and YouTube appear to be the top spots for millennials and Gen Z to get their social video content, according to automated video creation platform Wibbitz. For Gen Z, YouTube ranks #1, followed by Instagram and Twitter. For millennials, Facebook leads the market, followed by YouTube and Instagram. Another finding: The divergence of mobile and TV viewership is continuing with Gen Z. Millennials watch about 1.7 hours per day on TV sets and two hours on smartphones, while Gen Z spends 2.9 hours per day on smartphones compared to 1.8 hours per day on TV.
The finale of Facebook Watch’s Returning the Favor bows Tuesday, January 29, at 12a.
The Video Advertising Bureau is releasing a new report examining frequent YouTube viewers’ affinity for video content. The study, conducted by Research Now, looks at “YouTube Enthusiasts,” respondents who watch original content on the streamer two times or more per month. Among the findings: “Enthusiasts” are 22% more likely to feel personally connected to the character on their favorite TV shows than to their favorite YouTube personality; they are 85% more likely to watch a TV program live as it airs than to watch a YouTube video as soon as it’s posted; and they are 25% more likely to try to convince a friend to start watching their favorite TV program than their favorite YouTube personality.
Morgan Hoffman is the newest digital reporter at ET Canada, joining Graeme O’Neil. As the new faces of the show’s digital platform, Graeme will continue to host ET Canada Live on Facebook and YouTube, while Morgan will recur on the series.
PODCAST POSTS
Adam Carolla extended his exclusive deal with PodcastOne through 2023, including joint production, distribution, marketing and sales for his entire podcast collection. The comedian produces over 15 hours of original podcast programming weekly for the network, anchored by his flagship talker, The Adam Carolla Show.
GOING GLOBAL
Love Nature 4K, a joint venture with Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks, launched its wildlife and nature linear TV service on Turkey’s pay-TV platform TV+ both on IPTV and OTT.
Endemol Shine International secured multiple deal renewals with Discovery Networks Latin America. Series include the ninth season of Gordon Ramsay fronted MasterChef US, Masterchef Junior US seasons six and seven and MasterChef Mexico season four. The latest season of Trading Spaces has also been acquired, as well as seasons seven to 10 of Say Yes to the Dress.
DirecTV Latin America and Mediapro Group announced that season two of Todo por el Juego is set to premiere in October 2019. The series is based on the novel written by Javier Tebas and Pedro Torrens, El fútbol no es así.
GTT expanded it global media transport services for ATP Media, the broadcast arm of the Association of Tennis Professionals. It will now include distribution of select ATP 250 matches.
