Love at First Song, a music/dating hybrid show from South Korea is in development by Critical Content, John Legend‘s Get Lifted Film Co. and American Idol producer Simon Lythgoe and his Legacy Productions.
 
Freeform has two animation projects in the works: Betches focuses on three millennial female roommates in New York City; while Woman World, based on a graphic novel, shows a world where men are extinct.
 
Home Before Dark co-creator/writer/showrunner Dana Fox has signed a multi-year overall development deal with Paramount Television and Anonymous Content, producers of the Apple series.
 
Nora Smith (Bob’s Burgers EP) has signed an overall multi-year deal with 20^th Century Fox TV, expanding her current relationship with the company. She will continue with Bob’s, where she began as a staff writer, and will now co-showrun alongside creator Loren Bouchard.
 
INSP network has greenlit a new original Western-adjacent reality/docuseries called Turquoise Fever. The show will premiere this summer.
 
Jimmy Kimmel and Wheelhouse Group‘s Kimmelot have signed an unscripted production deal with ITV America. The company will be revamping Crank Yankers for Comedy Central as its first show to be produced in the arrangement.
Cynopsis is gearing up for That Big TV Conference (Sept 9 & 10 in NYC). This will not be a typical conference – it’s a chance for everyone in the room to dive in and join the conversation about what’s now and what’s next in the television and digital media ecosystem. Learn more here.
 

The A+E Networks upfronts turned on the power, showcasing celebrities from President George W. Bush to Sylvester Stallone and Garth Brooks as it laid out its plans for History, A&E and Lifetime. In addition, the company flagged several upcoming initiatives, including podcasts, speaking series and a three-day HistoryCon event.
 
Among the announcements:A&E will air a four-part special on Garth Brooks as part of its Biography franchise. Garth: The Road I’m On is set to air in Q4 of 2019 and highlight the country music artist’s career. Additionally, the networks announced Top Dog from MGM’s Big Fish Entertainment, a show about working K-9s and their handlers in competition with amateurs…History has paired with Sylvester Stallone to develop a period police drama series tentatively called The Tenderloin. The show is based on the true story of Charles Becker, the only policeman in U.S. history to be executed for murder.,,The network has also greenlit nonfic series The UnXplained (w/t), hosted and executive produced by William Shatner. New docudramas on the slate include the rebooting of In Search Of and Evel Live 2 (premiering July 7). Two new six-hour docs, Washington and The Food That Built America have already been added to its premium docudrama slate.
 
Lifetime has two scripted projects based on the lives of rappers Salt-N-Pepa and gospel singers The Clark Sisters. Both projects feature Queen Latifah in an executive producer role… The network has also given the go to three documentaries for 2020: From Darkness to Light, from Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman and Leah Remini; Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case hosted by Elizabeth Smart and a tentpole doc film series called Hopelessly In Love that will focus on infamous couples in pop culture…Plus, parenting reality how-to show Supernanny, starring the original host Jo Frost, is set to return in a revamped version in 2020.
You can find more on A+E Networks Upfronts news at the Cynopsis Upfronts Navigator: http://www.cynopsis.com/upfronts/?network=115748.

In other upfront news, ABC has expanded its own event to incorporate its new corporate siblings, following the Disney-Fox merger. The combined Walt Disney Company upfront will be on May 14 and include ABC, ESPN, Freeform, FX Networks and National Geographic.
 
 

Nat Geo WILD’s Animal ER Live launches on back-to-back nights, this Saturday and Sunday. What to expect? “The raw emotion we’ve encountered in live tests alone for Animal ER Live between animals in need of medical care and their owners has been palpable and incredibly moving,” Big Fish Entertainment President and show EP, Dan Cesareo tells Cynopsis. “We think viewers will be inspired and surprised by not only how relatable these relationships are, but also the complexity of the work, skill and unequivocal dedication the veterinary personnel in each of our seven cities across the country possess.”
 
The Urban Movie Channel has set its new multi-generational family drama A House Divided up for a premiere in summer 2019. The series will follow the descendants of former slave Letty Sanders, who became the wealthiest black woman in Los Angeles. The show’s creator is Dan Garcia (Bronx SIU).
 
Season four of Animal Kingdom returns to TNT on May 28, with Emily Deschanel joining the cast in a recurring role.
 
Freeform has announced its summer premieres: Grown-ish is back on June 5; Good Trouble is back on June 18; and Siren lands on July 11. Shadowhunters is ending after three seasons with an expanded two-and-half hour series finale on May 6.
 
SundanceTV will roll out a new short-form series, State of the Union, on May 6. The See-Saw Films production starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd will appear on multiple platforms simultaneously, including SundanceTV, Sundance Now, SundanceTV.com and the SundanceTV app.
 
TLC has renewed I Am Jazz for a sixth season that will air in 2020. The show follows transgender teen advocate Jazz Jennings through her daily life.
 
 

Breakthrough Entertainment has acquired 52 hours of premium unscripted television programming created in-house by Farpoint Films. The series include docudrama Cruise Ship Killers and medical mystery documentary My Misdiagnosis.
 
Sign up now and claim your spot for the Cynopsis Sports Awards on April 25^th in NYC. We’ve unveiled our full lineup of finalists, including our Luminary Award Winners, joining us from NFL Films, MGM Resort, ONE Championship and NBC Sports Group. Be sure to register your team before we sell out (again).
 
 

Tony nominee Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls) has been cast as the female lead opposite Ken Jeong and Max Willems in CBS‘ multi-camera comedy pilot The Emperor of Malibu, from Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan and Warner Bros. TV…Ismael Cruz Cordova (Miss Bala) and Matilda De Angelis (Il Premio) will star opposite Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland in The Undoing, an HBO six-episode limited series written by David E. Kelley…Nancy Lenehan (Veep) and Phil Hendrie (New Girl) have been cast as leads in CBS‘ multi-camera comedy pilot Our House from Sony Pictures TV and CBS TV Studios…Lorenzo Richelmy (Marco Polo) has been cast in a lead role in ABC‘s drama pilot Triangle.
 
 

EPIX revealed that its new streaming service EPIX NOW is available for download on Roku devices and Amazon Fire TV. The network’s full library of original programming and movies will be available for a small charge per month via the service.
 
The Order horror drama series has been renewed for a 10-episode second season by Netflix.
 
Tru Optik and Oracle Data Cloud have partnered to make Oracle’s audience data available for OTT/CTV campaigns through Tru Optik’s Data Marketplace. This makes Tru Optik the first data management platform focused on the OTT/CTV market to integrate Oracle Data Cloud audiences.
 
Magnify Media, a UK-based distribution and rights-management specialist, has licensed the scripted series Mental. The series has been licensed by France Television‘s VOD platform Slash. Production will begin in May with delivery in the fall.
 
 

Studio71 UK, a Red Arrow Studios company has released a new comedy podcast, Mystery on the Rocks, which features the conversations of a detective (played by Chris Stokes) and a bartender (Masud Milas) as they look at strange and weird unsolved mysteries.
 
 

BBC America‘s Killing Eve may have benefited from a bit of rule bending for the BAFTA TV Awards and BAFTA TV Craft Awards, which were announced Thursday. The show has scored 14 nominations under rules that say a show’s “creative control: must reside within the UK and/or a UK broadcaster must have the primary editorial control over the program.” Though the Phoebe Waller-Bridge created show did air on the BBC in the UK, it was a BBC America commission acquired later.
 
Starz‘ premium streaming service Starzplay is expanding into Spain on Orange TV starting March 28. The service will give Orange TV subscribers a chance to watch all Starz series in one place along with future Starz originals day-and-date with the US.
 
CBS Studios International and Scoope Media have signed a licensing deal for an African version of The Doctors. Produced in Nigeria by Scoope, the series is set to premiere at the end of 2019 on the Scoop! SVOD platform.
 
Channel 4 in the UK will launch AwesomenessTV‘s supernatural thriller Light as a Feather on its digital service on All4 on April 1. The show was originally available on Hulu.
 
Viacom18‘s Indian streaming video service Voot is set to adapt Liar, a thriller series which had been an ITV/SundanceTV co-production. No release date has been announced yet.
 
Zig Zag Productions and Espresso Media International report that Foxtel in Australia and Mediawan in France have acquired the company’s documentary film, Moon Landings: World’s Greatest Hoax?, which examines the most famous conspiracy theories behind the 1969 Apollo moon landing.
 
All3Media has picked up UK rights to Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries to air in April and The Bad Seed in May. UKTV will premiere both series on Alibi.
 

AMC has expanded Jennifer Caserta‘s role at the company, giving her a new title: Chief Transformation and People Officer. Caserta will be driving transformation across AMC Networks to help enable long-term growth objectives, and is part of the senior executive team. Her previous title had been Chief Transformation Officer.
 
Sony Chairman Kazuo Hirai will retire this summer, while continuing to provide counsel for Sony’s management team. Hirai has been with the company since joining Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1984, and stepped away from his CEO duties in 2018.
 
Kasia Jablonska has joined Endemol Shine Group as the Head of Digital Distribution and Monetization. Jablonska joins in April and will report to the group director of commercial operations Yannick Ferrero.
 
Independent television producer River Media (Trading Spaces) has announced that its CEO Rob Lundgren will retire after 20 years with the company. Lori Stryer will take over the position; she and Dee Bagwell Haslam continue to be partners and executive producers in the company.
 
 

International television distribution pioneer Russell Kagan has died following a battle with cancer. Kagan was a regular at NATPE and MIP/MIPCOM and often referred to as the “Mayor of Cannes.” Kagan was 65.

DIR, SALES MARKETING
ION MEDIA
NY

Ideal candidate will develop strategic sales positioning for ION Television’s unique value proposition. This position will help the sales organization drive revenue growth on existing accounts in new business categories. Min of 5yrs exp at a media co, expert in MS Office Suite and PPT

Full info HERE

VIDEO PRODUCER/SYFY WIRE/NYC: Resp for the creative ideation & execution of longform & shortform video content across all platforms SYFY WIRE, SYFY’s genre news & lifestyle brand. Take projects from dvlpmnt thru post-prod. Support one-off creative needs as they arise. Own prod process, mng projects. 3+ yrs related exp. Full info HERE (4/10)

DIR, SALES MARKETING/ION MEDIA/NY: Ideal candidate will develop strategic sales positioning for ION Television’s unique value proposition. This position will help the sales organization drive revenue growth on existing accounts in new business categories. Min of 5yrs exp at a media co, expert in MS Office Suite and PPT. Full info HERE (4/5)

MGR, AD SALES PARTNERSHIPS/A+E Networks/NY: Serve as ad sales partnerships resource and thought leader in the sales department, managing ideation and response to RFPs, creating product knowledge one sheets based on assigned network and disciplines, knowledgeable in digital/social marketing products & tools, effectively demonstrating how they can be leveraged in strategic 360 campaigns. Full Info/Apply:  http://www.aenetworks.com/careers (4/4)

COORD, RESEARCH & INSIGHTS/Endemol Shine North America/North Hollywood: Ideal candidate must have a strong interest in TV ratings & research and comfortable working with numbers/large data sets with a strong focus on accuracy & attention to detail. Must have 1+ yrs as an assist, coord or analytical role at TV studio, broadcast or cable network. Excel and PowerPoint required. Job training provided. Full Info/Apply HERE (4/4)

ACCT EXECUTIVE/CNN Airport Network/NY: Resp include identifying prospects, generating leads and penetrating client companies/agencies at all levels. Primary function is to drive new business for the network. Req include 5+ yrs in media sales, ability to exceed targets and building sr level client/agency relationships. Team player who works well in a large multi-platform sales organization. Full Info/Apply HERE (4/3)

ACCT DIRECTOR, PARTNERSHIP SALES/GSTV/NY: Ideal candidate must be able to drive aggressive rev targets across multiple GSTV rev opps within WPP Holding Co. by creating solutions for customers. An understanding of nat advtg, digital video and data-driven aud targeting and attribution marketplace. Min of 3+ yrs media exp, including 1+ yrs in sales. Ability to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously. Full Info/Apply HERE (4/3)