Today’s Premieres
discovery+: “Super Soul”
Sunday’s Premieres
Bravo: “Married To Medicine” at 9p
Discovery and discovery+: “Naked and Afraid” at 8p
Epix: “Condor” at 10p
Food: “Tournament of Champions” at 8p, “The Great Food Truck Race: Alaska” at 10p
NBC: “Good Girls” at 10p
Showtime: “Vice” at 8p
Weather Channel: “Mud Mountain Haulers” at 10p
IN THE NEWS
Sister Act: Elle and Dakota Fanning are launching a production company, Lewellen Pictures, with a first-look deal at Civic Center Media/MRC Television, home of Elle Fanning’s Hulu series “The Great.” The Fanning sisters plan to develop TV and feature projects, podcasts and other media. First project is an adaptation of Megan Miranda’s novel “The Last House Guest,” in development as a crime thriller series. Sarah Walker (“The Secrets She Keeps”) will write and exec-produce the series about an intimate friendship between two girls who fall violently in love with each other’s differences.
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is bullish on the launch of the ad-supported version of HBO Max, slated to debut later this year. Noting the less expensive tier will unlock a new wave of customers, Kilar said virtually during Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom conference, “It turns out that most people on this planet are not wealthy. If we can use price and… do things elegantly through advertising to reduce the price of the service, I think that’s a fantastic thing for fans.”
The Television Academy hired diversity consulting firm ReadySet to evaluate its inclusion and representation practices. ReadySet will help the organization, which runs the Emmy Awards, develop a strategic action plan that starts with an analysis of the Academy’s policies and procedures and its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The first $5 million of Netflix’s recently announced Creative Equity Fund is earmarked for programs that help to nurture and uplift women in the entertainment industry globally. Head of global TV Bela Bajaria announced the news in a blog post. The fund dedicates $20 million annually over the next five years to setting up underrepresented communities for success in the TV and film industries, as well as bespoke Netflix programs.
CBS Sports and HBCU All-Stars, a Black-owned sports marketing and event company, announced a multiyear agreement for the network to present the new “HBCU All-Star Game” live, beginning in 2022 in New Orleans on the Sunday of Final Four weekend. Additionally, ViacomCBS is establishing an academic scholarship fund and providing internship opportunities for select HBCU students.
The ATX Television Festival is returning for its 10th year, in virtual form, June 11-20. The fest will feature screenings, panels, roundtables, interstitial content and VOD programming, and is open for attendance at a variety of pricing tiers.
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| PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Starz is serving up a revival of “Party Down”
as a six-part series. The net is developing a new comedy, developed and exec-produced by “Party Down” alumni Rob Thomas (“Veronica Mars,” “iZombie”) along with John Enbom (“iZombie,” “Benched,”), Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”) and Dan Etheridge (“Veronica Mars,” “iZombie”). The action follows an LA a catering team whose members inevitably get entangled with their guests and their over-the-top lives.
Gianni Nunnari (“The Departed”) of Hollywood Gang Productions and Andre L III of MiLu Entertainment acquired rights to Cuban author Armando Lucas Correa’s novel “The German Girl” to develop as a TV series. The book is based on the true stories of passengers on the ill-fated transatlantic ocean liner the St Louis, which was transporting Jewish refugees from Germany to Cuba in 1939.
Torrey Peters’ “Detransition, Baby” is headed to television. Anonymous Content is developing the novel as a series, with Peters on board to exec produce and pen the pilot. Writing and producing duo Joan Rater and Tony Phelan (“Council of Dads,” “Grey’s Anatomy”) will also exec produce and serve as showrunners for the dramedy, which follows a trans woman unexpectedly contacted by her ex, who proposes they raise a child together.
Northern Ireland serial crime drama “Hope Street” is headed to BritBox. The streaming service from BBC Studios and ITV commissioned the series, which focuses on Port Devine’s police department, and the mysterious arrival of English Detective Constable Alimah Kahn, the first Muslim police officer in the town’s history.
Teen comedy “Sex Appeal” is in the works at Hulu, which greenlit production of the film about the quest to master sex and love in high school, directed by Talia Osteen. “Sex Appeal” will star Mika Abdalla (“Project Mc2”) and Jake Short (“All Night”). Tate Hanyok, whose credits include “Transparent” and “Superstore,” will pen and exec-produce.
Discreet is expanding to the US, with former Techicolor head of creative development Steven Wendland at the helm. The new studio will expand original IP development and production in the kids and family space for film, television, gaming, apps and interactive publishing. Discreet clients include Technicolor, Anima Estudios and Titmouse.
NEW + RETURNING SERIES
Premiering Saturday, March 6 on discovery+ is a new batch of “Super Soul” in-depth interviews conducted by Oprah Winfrey. This round of the series, from OWN, will feature Andra Day, Chip and Joanna Gaines, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sharon Stone, among others.
A new season of “Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine” hits the small screen Friday, March 19, on Discovery Channel and discovery+. Miner Dave Turin returns for an emotional journey through Colorado, a change of operations due to pandemic travel restrictions.
Netflix picked April Fool’s Day for the season 2 launch of “Prank Encounters.” Hosted by Gaten Matarazzo, each ep combines fear and funny as it takes two strangers on the surprise ride of a lifetime… April 1 is also the Netflix premiere date for “Worn Stories,” a series about our bizarre and sentimental connections to old clothes.
Also at Netflix, April 2 is the premiere date for “The Serpent,” an eight-part series based on the life of serial conman Charles Sobhraj and the attempts to bring him to justice. Posing as a gem dealer, Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andree Leclerc carried out a spree of crimes on the Asian “Hippie Trail,” across Thailand, Nepal and India in 1975-76 and became the chief suspects in a series of murders of young Western travelers.
“Made For Love,” a cynically poignant story of love and divorce, will debut on HBO Max in April. It follows a thirty-something woman who, while on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to a controlling tech billionaire, discovers her husband had implanted a monitoring device in her brain, allowing him to track her.
COMING UP
“CBS This Morning” is under way with its annual Road To The Grammys promo, which will provide coverage leading up to the 63rd annual awards event on March 14. Nominated musicians Dua Lipa, Black Pumas, Jhene Aiko and host Trevor Noah are among those who’ll be in the interview seat.
More than a dozen country music artists, including Sara Evans and Travis Tritt, are on tap for a new Circle Network special benefiting Feeding America. Airing Saturday, March 6 at 8:30p, the special will feature stories from families who have been affected by hunger.
“My Birthday Romance,” about a woman determined to find love before her 35th birthday to get her family off her back, debuts on UPtv Sunday, March 7 at 7p.
Comedy special “Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American” will debut on Netflix on Thursday, March 18. The streamer dropped a trailer for the special, Bargatze’s second for Netflix.
Shudder is turning April into “Halfway to Halloween” month with a slate of programming including a new season of “Creepshow,” the return of “The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs” and a new exclusive movie every week. A live Halfway to Halloween Hotline will provide subscribers with personalized horror movie recommendations.
Upcoming from PBS are Masterpiece’s “Atantic Crossing,” about the WW2-era relationship between President Franklin Roosevelt and Norwegian Crown Princess Martha, debuting Sunday, April 4, at 9p, and docuseries “Hemingway,” from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, which airs Monday, April 5-Wednesday, April 7 at 8p.
Kevin Hart drama “Fatherhood” will debut on Netflix on Friday, June 18, through a licensing deal with Sony and the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions. Directed by Paul Weitz, film is about a single father who brings up his baby girl and is based on the book Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love by Matthew Logelin.
ADVERTISING + BRANDS
Blockgraph, owned by Comcast/Charter Communications and ViacomCBS, and TransUnion are partnering to deliver privacy-focused addressable advertising solutions to the cross-channel video marketplace. The partnership aims to facilitate the application of authenticated data to target, reach and measure households across convergent TV platforms.
TECH TALK
Square is buying a majority stake in Jay-Z’s streaming music platform Tidal for a price tag of $297 million in cash and stock. As part of the deal, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter will join the board of directors of Square, a financial services and payments company launched by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. Tidal will operate independently within Square.
STREAMING NEWS
Netflix’s “Firefly Lane” landed on top in Nielsen’s US streaming rankings for the week of February 1-7, with 1.3 billion total viewing minutes for its 10 episodes. Disney+’s “WandaVision,” the only non-Netflix show in the top 10, recorded its best week in terms of total viewing, notching 589 million views across five half-hour eps.
KIDS NEWS
A different kind of Star is born. Nickelodeon greenlit “The Patrick Star Show,” the second spinoff of its venerable “SpongeBob SquarePants” series. Billed as a family sitcom featuring the animated starfish as a child, the series is slated to debut this summer with Bill Fagerbakke, the longtime voice of Patrick Star set to continue his role.
Apple TV+’s kids roster is growing. New special “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” will premiere Friday March 26, featuring the whole gang getting in the holiday spirit. “Ghostwriter: Beyond the Page,” a series for young adventurers that’s hosted by children’s book author D.J. MacHale, debuts Thursday, April 1. Throughout each segment, “Ghostwriter” characters will pop in and help tackle various challenges in the writing process.
CASTING
Jeff Schine (“SEAL Team”) is in a series regular opposite Rose Rollins and Josh Lucas in Spectrum Originals’ “Long Slow Exhale”… Andrea Martin (“Great News”), Robert Ri’chard (“Empire”), Juani Feliz (“Blue Bloods”), Kate Rockwell (“Mean Girls: The Musical”) and Sullivan Jones (“The Surrogate”) landed recurring roles on Amazon’s “Harlem”… Reginald VelJohnson, who co-starred in the 1989 film “Turner & Hooch,” will reprise his role on the upcoming “Turner & Hooch” sequel series for Disney+.
Sarah Niles (“Trying,” “I May Destroy You”) joined Apple comedy series “Ted Lasso” as a regular for season 2… Showtime drama series “American Rust” handed recurring roles to Dallas Roberts (“The Good Wife”), Clea Lewis (“The Americans”) and Nicole Chanel Williams (“Boomerang”)… Saycon Sengbloh (“In the Dark”) scored a lead role as the mom in the ABC comedy pilot “The Wonder Years”… Chelsea Harris is moving up to a series regular on TNT’s “Snowpiercer.”
GOING GLOBAL
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group secured a bevvy of international deals for CBS’ much-buzzed Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that airs Sunday, March 7. “Oprah With Meghan And Harry” has been licensed in more than 70 territories, including the UK (ITV), Australia (Network 10), Canada (Global TV) and Israel (yesDocu).
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Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference [Virtual Experience]
June 15-16, 1:00PM – 3:00PM
Sponsored by: -Kochava – Matrix
Registration is free until March 12!
VIEW FULL AGENDA / REGISTER NOW |
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| RATINGS
Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Wednesday, March 3
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: “The Goldbergs” 3.36 (0.6), “American Housewife” 2.64 (0.5), “The Connors” 3.48 (0.5), “Call Your Mother” 2.32 (0.4) “The Con” 1.80 (0.3)
CBS: “Tough As Nails” 3.42 (0.4), “SEAL Team” 4.02 (0.5), “S.W.A.T.” 3.51 (0.4)
CW: “Riverdale” 0.31 (0.1),“Nancy Drew” 0.23 (0.0)
ION: “Blue Bloods” 1.07 (0.1), “Blue Bloods” 1.01 (0.1), “Blue Bloods” 0.93 (0.1)
FOX: “Name That Tune” 2.46 (0.5), “Name That Tune” 2.68 (0.6)
NBC: “Chicago Med” 3.40 (0.4), “Chicago Fire” 3.0 (0.4), “Chicago PD” 2.72 (0.4)
Telemundo: Exatlon 1.00 (0.3), Suerte de Loli 0.99 (0.3), Buscando Frida 1.02 (0.3)
Univision: Vencer al Desamor 1.75 (0.5), Te Acuerdas De Mi 1.39 (0.3), Hija Del Embajador 1.31 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages
EXECUTIVE MOVES
ABC News tapped Averi Harper as deputy political director. Harper, who covered the 2020 presidential campaign for the network, joined ABC in 2019. Prior to that she was at News 12 in New York.
Univision appointed Beatriz Pedrosa-Guanche as SVP of corporate communications. She has served in leadership roles at Apple, Burson-Marsteller, Brazil Telecom of America and Verso Technologies.
Creative platform VidMob hired Matty de Castro in the newly created role of VP of growth and operations. De Castro most recently served as head of North American scaled accounts for Facebook.
Popsugar named Jennifer Fields as deputy editor of fitness. She most recently served as senior director of editorial development at WebMD.
Production house Fabel Entertainment promoted Mohan Mandali and Jasmine Russ to directors of development.
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This Day in History
1623 – The first alcohol temperance law in the colonies was enacted in Virginia.
Friday Fun Fact
There are over 100 ways to cook an egg
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who played Snake in an episode of “The Partridge Family” (1970-74)? Rob Reiner. Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NY; John Carlo-UPtv/NY; Jim Kelly-Jim Kelly Consulting/Central Islip, NY; David Rubinsohn-American Public Television/Boston; Anthony Salerno-Horizon Media/NY; Joni Zlotowitz-WABC/NY; Ken DuBow-Access Entertainment/LA; John Ferlazzo/London
Today’s Trivia Question
Which music icon showed up for two guest spots on “Will & Grace” (1998-2020)? 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.)
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SENIOR MANAGER OF MARKETING OPERATIONS >>
ITVS/San Francisco: Optimize project management processes to create sustainable, scalable standards and best practices that improve cross-functional collaboration and long-range planning. Set, manage, and execute our audience development workflows. Identify, plan, and execute effective, “right-size” workflows. 5-7 years of professional experience in project management and communications required. Full info HERE (3/15)
MANAGER, DIGITAL CONTENT PROGRAMMING >>
FILMRISE/BROOKLYN NY: Manage clients for various emerging OTT verticals including but not limited to US Hispanic and Latin American/Brazilian platforms. Coordinate delivery of new content and looking for new ways to optimize revenue. Experience working in international digital content programming/ sales; familiarity with various platforms and Spanish language fluency required. Full info HERE (3/15)
INTEGRATED MARKETING MANAGER >>
REVOLT TV/LOS ANGELES: Managing branded content projects, ensuring the flawless execution of sold concepts through to delivery across media platforms. Tracks projects through all phases; from requests through approvals and distribution. 3+ years in creative/digital project manager role at a related production house/agency. Full info HERE (3/15)
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SCRIPTED SALES & CO-PRODUCTIONS >>
BBC AMERICA/LOS ANGELES CA: Managing sales and co-production activity with designated clients across both television and digital. Keep in constant contact with all key US buyers pitching upcoming programmes –for both TV and SVOD sales. 7+ years of experience at executive level within programming and/or distribution. In-depth understanding of the UK television industry, in particular the BBC. Full info HERE (3/14)
SALES ASSISTANT – NATIONAL >>
UPtv/NYC, NY: Provide full support to all accounts for the Ad Sales team, assist Account Executives, Sales Planner and Pricing Inventory in managing day-to-day Ad sales responsibilities. Communicate daily with Traffic Department, and create and maintain quarterly flighting grid. B.A. in Communication or equivalent from a four-year college; prior experience a plus. Full info HERE (3/14)
LIMITED EXCEL SKILLS IMPACTING EFFICIENCY? >>
MY SOFTWARE TUTOR: offers company-centric, customizable, practical Excel training led by a live instructor. We deliver functional business skills to you and your team in a safe, supportive environment. Use promo code: CYNOPSIS20 to unlock a 20% savings on each registration. Full info HERE. (3/14)
COUNSEL, BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS >>
MLB NETWORK/SECAUSUS, NJ: Strong knowledge and understanding of legal and business issues related to media, strong negotiation and drafting skills and a solid understanding of business issues. Draft and/or negotiate a wide variety of agreements and contract summary/tracking/management. A minimum of two years of legal experience in a media and/or entertainment transactional environment either in-house or with a law firm is required. Full info HERE (3/13)
VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER >>
NEXSTAR INC., KRON4-MYNETWORK/SAN FRANCISCO: Leading broadcast operational teams with sales-driven organizations, developing locally originated content, and commitment to community service. Track record of high performance in developing revenue across multiple platforms. Minimum of five years of general management experience at a commercial broadcast television station with accompanying digital assets required. Full info HERE (3/13)
COMMUNITY MANAGER >>
JUKIN MEDIA/LOS ANGELES: Set overall community strategy as it relates to supporting brand initiatives, structure implementation of community-facing strategy across FailArmy, communicate on behalf of the brand across multiple channels. Min 3 yrs experience in brand communications, strong expertise in and a passion for current and emerging social and OTT platforms. Full info HERE (3/13)
DIRECTOR, CURRENT PROGRAMMING >>
JUKIN MEDIA/LOS ANGELES: Responsible for overseeing, guiding and elevating all programming for each of the Streaming TV channels, Works with VP Streaming to establish long-term creative programming strategy to achieve business unit KPIs. Plan and budget to help develop, help commission, and acquire programming for Jukin streaming channels. 7+ years in creative production for digital/streaming/television required. Full info HERE (3/13)
DIGITAL MANAGING DIRECTOR >>
SPECTRUM NETWORKS/NYC: Lead the talented and resourceful journalists, manage digital teams in multiple locations and editorial content; encourage innovation and unique story telling techniques. Impeccable integrity and ability to support our writers and editors in making tough journalistic calls in fast-moving news cycles. Full info HERE (3/13)
SENIOR MANAGER, NEWS & CONTENT >>
SPECTRUM NETWORKS/NYC: Actively and consistently support all efforts to simplify and enhance the customer experience, ability to oversee production of Live Newscasts. Drive integration and collaboration with other managers to achieve station goals. Work closely with other managers to determine daily scope of coverage. Full info HERE (3/13)
MANAGER, PROGRAM & CONTENT STRATEGY >>
CNN/NYC OR REMOTE: Creates schedules/rollout plans for series/films, live news, and special events on CNN & HLN. Manages inventory and evaluates performance to optimize usage. TV Programming exp, 5+ yrs. Can project manage/multi-task. Must know current events. Full info/apply HERE (3/13)
DIRECTOR OF PRIME TIME TELEVISION >>
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY/ HOLLYWOOD: Responsible for building out relationships with writers, directors, agents, managers, and talent in the prime-time arena, identifying new projects and talent in both comedy and drama for live-action and animation, and will oversee development of series to pitch A background in prime time television required and demonstrated knowledge of television development and production processes a must. Full info HERE (3/13)
VP of GAMING and ESPORTS >>
GRAVITY ROAD/NYC: Gravity Road is a creative company bringing together marketing, entertainment, and technology to create things people want to spend time with. We are looking for someone that is a commercially minded gamer, a strategic thinker and a proactive doer to join as our VP Gaming and Esports. Full info HERE (3/13)
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Directs, co-develops/delivers locally prod programs and PSA for nat and inter’l audiences. Also oversees prod crew that produces regular, special and live shows related to various political, historical and other appropriate topics. Min 3 yrs exp in directing Live television news, studio-based programming or similarly related professional media productions. Full info HERE (3/11)
VIDEO ENGINEER & ROBOTIC CAMERA OPERATOR >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Exp in configuring and setting up all broadcast studio cameras both manned and robotic for daily use. Maintains network-level camera blocking and composition. Monitors/adjusts video signals including cameras, monitors, playback sources, color correction equip/incoming feeds. Min 4 yrs exp. Full info HERE (3/11)
FEEDS MANAGER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Resp for managing tech/logistical traffic supporting live news shows. Full knwldge of video and tech workflow throughout all locations. Provide tech guidance to help create better video workflows. Ensure all broadcast feeds are meeting specific tech quality standards. Min 3 yrs tech managing, or equivalent knwldge. 5 yrs in live TV prod. Full info HERE (3/11)
GFX Op >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Must be able to set up and play out all graphic elements which are included in pre-recorded or live programming. Mnge graphic content as it corresponds to live and pre-recorded programs. Satisfy all production req for live and pre-recorded programming under the supervision of the show’s director and technical operations mngmt. Min 3 yrs of exp in graphic and character generation, plus 1yr exp with Ross Xpression. Full info HERE (3/11)
AUDIO TECHNICIAN >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Operate/executes audio mixing/creation for live and taped broadcasts, in the context of orig produced programs and PSAs. Collaborate with News depart and prod crew that produce regular, special and live shows. Generate timely and pertinent broadcast material. Min 2 yrs exp in graphic and character gen in television news, creative services, studio-based prog or related profession. Full info HERE (3/11)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Responsible for designing and building shows, managing show hosts and production team, identifying and integrating guests, overseeing and executing the production of key video & graphic elements. 3+ yrs EP exp or political news & talk programming. Full info HERE (3/11)
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Write for fast paced news and opinion show. You are an exceptional storyteller with a command of political news and cultural trends. At least 3 years of national or large market local news experience. Full info HERE (3/11)
SENIOR LINE PRODUCER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Responsible for the production and execution of live political news programming, and recorded video segments for television, and digital platforms. 3+ yrs experience line producing. Full info HERE (3/11)
PRODUCER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA/NY, NY: Responsible for the production of live news & talk show, and recorded video segments for television, and digital platforms. 3+ yrs in TV news and/or talk production. Full info HERE (3/11)
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FRIDAY MARCH 5
ABC: Shark Tank, 20/20, 20/20
CBS: MacGyver, Magnum P.I., Blue Bloods
CW: Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Penn & Teller: Fool Us
FOX: WWE Friday Night Smackdown
NBC: The Blacklist, Dateline NBC, Dateline NBC
PBS: Washington Week, Firing Line, Will.i.am: Landmarks Live In Concert, Live From Lincoln Center
Telemundo: Exatlon Estados Unidos, Noticias Telemundo, Buscando a Frida
Univision: Vencer El Desamor, Te Acuerdas Di Mi, La Hija Del Embajador |
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