PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
The force is with him: Producer/actor Jon Favreau (Iron Man) will EP and write a live-action Star Wars series for Disney’s new streaming service – and he’s geeking out about it. “If you had told me at 11 years old that I would be getting to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said the fan of the franchise. “I can’t wait to embark on this exciting adventure.”
CMT is reviving ABC’s 2004-2010 reality show/social experiment Wife Swap, which has families trading spouses. Exec producing the series from Banijay Studios North America are David Goldberg and Caroline Baumgard.
Showtime picked up 7 new episodes of Our Cartoon President, to air this summer. The series ends its initial 10-episode run on Sunday, April 8 at 8p, replaced in the timeslot by political docu-series The Circus.
44 Blue Productions acquired the rights to Shantrelle P. Lewis’ book “Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style”, with plans to partner with Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon’s company JuVee Productions to executive produce a docu-series inspired by the book and its curated collection of photographs and stories of dandies and designers.
USA ordered a spinoff off Suits, centered on the character played by Gina Torres. “The Suits flagship series has struck a chord with our marketing partners throughout the years as a great platform for advertising and sponsorship opportunities,” said Mark Marshall, EVP, entertainment advertising sales, NBCUniversal. “This new Gina Torres-led spinoff allows us to provide those same advertisers and audiences with the content we already know they love to watch.” Spinoff is executive produced and written by Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh alongside exec producer and showrunner Daniel Arkin. Doug Liman, David Bartis and Gene Klein of Hypnotic and Gina Torres will also serve as executive producers.
Production is underway for TV One’s Merry Wish-mas. The original holiday movie, starring The Manns’ Tamela and David Mann, will debut this winter.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
NBC competition series Making It starts its 6-episode run on Tuesday, July 31 at 10p. Parks and Rec alum Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman exec produce and host as Makers tackle handmade projects. “At the very most, you will fall in love with our Makers, get introduced to a world you may not know anything about and even get inspired to make something at home!” said Poehler. “At the very least, you will learn what vellum is.”
AMC’s Dietland premieres with back-to-back episodes on Monday, June 4 at 9p. Revenge fantasy from Marti Noxon (UnREAL) stars Joy Nash (The Mindy Project) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife).
HBO late-nighter Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas arrives Friday, April 13 at 11:30p. “Maybe not the best move to announce another man getting a late-night show on International Women’s Day,” tweeted Cenac, a writer and correspondent for The Daily Show from 2008-2012. Series will explore social and cultural problems with reports from around the country.
Like sands through the hourglass….Days of Our Lives was renewed for a 54th season by NBC. The daytime soap premiered as a half-hour drama in 1965, expanding to an hour 10 years later.
History’s Six is back for season 2 on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28 at 10p. The Navy SEAL drama continues in its regular time slot on Wednesday, May 30 at 10p.
The World Channel will premiere South Florida PBS’s Battleground Everglades on Sunday, April 8 at 12:30p. The 6-parter leads up to and continues after Earth Day, April 22, showing the implications of centuries of drainage and development.
Guest judges for season 10 of VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race will include Christina Aguilera, Shania Twain, Lena Dunham, Halsey, Kate Upton and Billy Eichner, among others, with Stephen Colbert, Andy Cohen and Cheyenne Jackson making special appearances. Premiere date: Thursday, March 22 at 8p.
Nick Nanton is teaming with Russell Brunson, co-founder of ClickFunnels, to co-produce short film O.U.R.: Operation Underground Railroad and the Fight to End Modern Day Slavery (wt), telling the story of anti-human trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad.
SOCIAL GOOD
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises marked International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month with the launch of “Mes de la Mujer,” celebrating Latinas in the U.S. and their contribution to society. Campaign features in-show integrations, on-air promos and digital and social activations.
COMING UP
A&E’s Live PD hits its milestone 100th episode tonight at 9p. And Big Fish Entertainment president Dan Cesareo tells Cynopsis working on the docu-series, which follows police patrols in real time, never gets boring. “Live PD has been the ultimate ride-along for us just as much as it has been for the audience, and as we hit our 100th episode it remains true that no two nights are ever the same,” says Cesareo. “We at Big Fish are thrilled at how viewers show up in force every Friday and Saturday night in support of this series, and to have the opportunity to continue collaborating with A&E to deliver real content that inspires such an important dialogue.”
Eminem, Kehlani, N.E.R.D, and G-Eazy will perform at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, along with Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5, Camila Cabello, and Charlie Puth. Show airs Sunday, March 11 on TBS, TNT and truTV at 8p.
WGN America is running M*A*S*H marathons Friday, March 9 from 7p-12a and Saturday, March 10 from 11a-10p as a tribute to actor David Ogden Stiers, nominated twice for his work as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. Stiers died March 3 at age 75.
Oprah? Lucy? Mary? Who has been the most inspiring woman on television? Let us know in the Cynopsis poll: http://cynopsis.com/poll/.
Starz acquired 7 first-run documentaries, including one focused on the woman Oprah Winfrey mentioned during her Golden Globes acceptance speech in January. The Rape of Recy Taylor is slated to debut July 2.
Country music fans have a chance to be part of the Academy of Country Music Awards by submitting images of everyday female heroes for consideration to be featured during Dierks Bentley’s performance of his hit, “Woman, Amen”. Show airs Sunday, April 15 at 8p.
Freeform has teamed with lifestyle media brand PopSugar to create an immersive mermaid museum in Hollywood, aimed at promoting upcoming drama Siren. Event is open to the public March 22-25; series premieres Thursday, March 29.
SOMETHING SPECIAL
Fox News is airing Billy Graham: An Extraordinary Journey on Sunday, March 11 at 8p. One-hour special offers a look at the late minister’s rise from son of a dairy farmer to religious leader. Graham died February 21 at age 99.
RFD-TV special Mecum Auctions: Mecum Auctions Gone Farmin’ airs Saturday, April 7 at 11:30a. Live 2-hour event features nearly 400 vintage tractors from a variety of makes and models set to cross the auction block.
New Wave: Dare to Be Different tells the story WLIR 92.7, a rogue Long Island radio station on the cutting edge of music in the 1980s. Special premieres on Showtime Friday, March 30 at 8p.
CBS Interfaith Special Race, Religion & Resistance looks at the root causes of racism, and people of faith working to “redeem the soul of America” on Sunday, April 1 (check local listings).
ADVERTISING
Global video marketplace Unruly launched a new insight tool yesterday – International Women’s Day – that tests to see whether an ad is sexist or not. A stereotype analysis is part of its content testing solution, UnrulyEQ Max, which evaluates whether the ad’s content reinforces harmful gender stereotypes. Examples include ads that objectify people’s bodies or show certain occupations or roles being more suitable for a particular gender.
Advertising Week, which begins October 1, will include a roster of thought leaders including Arianna Huffington, Oath CMO Allie Kline, The Female Quotient CEO Shelley Zalis and Facebook VP Carolyn Everson, among many others. Spot a pattern? “Advertising Week has always been a reflective mirror of popular culture and it is only fitting that we reveal the initial roster of female thought leaders on International Women’s Day,” said Matt Scheckner, CEO of Advertising Week.
CASTING
Dermot Mulroney will recur on Amazon series Homecoming, as the boyfriend of Julia Roberts’ character. The actors starred in 1997 rom-com My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Frasier’s Jane Leeves landed a lead role in Fox’s untitled comedy pilot with Erin Foster and Don Johnson….Jorja Fox (CSI) will star in CBS drama pilot Chiefs….Joelle Carter (Justified) and Evan Parke (King Kong) join the cast of ABC drama pilot Salvage as series regulars…. Mark Webber (Green Room), Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) and Alana Arena (Electric Dreams) won lead roles in CBS drama pilot L.A. Confidential.
Casting Notice: Sean De Simone Casting & QVC are casting F/T Host. Relocation to PA required. Should have experience in hosting TV, digital, radio or live events. Intelligent, enthusiastic, commanding & love for products a must. Candidates should be quick on their feet with ability to improv & engage. Hosts should be friendly, credible, entertaining, sincere & sophisticated with an elevated sense of style & fashion. Contact [email protected].
DIGITAL DATA
With 46% of all branded video campaigns, Facebook tops YouTube (41%), according to video ad tech company Clinch. Facebook’s videos “tend to be quick branded experiences on their own, and therefore are more performance and engagement-oriented,” Clinch CEO Oz Etzioni tells Digital News Daily.
Netflix subscribers worldwide streamed a record-busting 350 million hours of content on January 7, said the streamer’s VP of content delivery, Ken Florence, during a Netflix press event. On average, Netflixers stream 140 million hours per day.
Toronto-based digital distribution company Syndicado inked a digital distribution deal with British documentary director Tony Palmer for digital distribution rights to seven of Palmer’s documentary films for the US. Among them: long-lost Leonard Cohen doc Bird on a Wire, and The World of Peter Sellers, banned by the BBC in 1971.
Digital marketing technology company Amobee announced integrations with predictive score marketing company TruSignal, to ingest its custom-built, people-based scored into the existing Amobee bidder and influence the real-time bids from the platform. The offering is intended to give brands and agencies a more integrated way to maximize investment across desktop, mobile, video and social.
Hulu and Brightline have partnered form T-Comm, an ad unit that lets users make purchases, starting with movie tickets. Hulu’s pitch: viewers spend twice as long engaging with a brand when the ad is interactive, and purchase intent increases by 160%.
Sundance Now scripted drama Innocent makes its U.S. debut on Thursday, March 22. New episodes of the thriller starring Lee Ingleby (The A Word) will stream weekly every Thursday until April 12.
GOING GLOBAL
NATPE Budapest is re-naming as NATPE Budapest International. The move reflects the Global TV Market and Conference’s extended focus beyond CEE to the EMEA and worldwide content business.NATPE BI will include a content marketplace, studio screenings and business-focused conference sessions at the InterContinental Hotel from June 25-28, and extend its entry criteria to include independent producers from the wider EMEA region.
Entertainment One has licensed the detective series The Detail to France Televisions. 10-episode ensemble drama centers on three female homicide investigators.
Bustle Digital Group announced plans to expand internationally into the UK, with its first office outside the U.S. opening this month in London. The expansion effort will be led by Bustle Digital Group Editor-in-Chief Kate Ward and Chief Revenue Officer Jason Wagenheim; Bustle will officially launch its web and social platforms in the U.K. in late Spring.
DISTRIBUTION
Sports-first streaming TV service fuboTV is expanding to include outdoor and motorsports content through new agreements to carry Lucas Oil Products’ MAVTV Motorsports Network; Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks’ Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel and World Fishing Network; and Outside TV. fuboTV also added 6 local stations, for a total of 227 on its platform.
KIDS CORNER
Cartoon Network is introducing the next generation of creators with series including Owen Dennis’ magical adventure Infinity Train and Diego Molano’s Latin American supernatural comedy Victor and Valentino. “It has always been in our DNA to embrace kids for who they are and build relatable worlds, stories and characters for them,” said Christina Miller, president of Cartoon Network-Adult Swim-Boomerang. “This moment is especially exciting because this new wave of talent naturally brings depth and interactivity to their storytelling.”
Nickelodeon greenlit live-action series Cousin for Life, from EPs Kevin Kopelow and Heather Seifert (All That). Buddy comedy centers on 12-year-old cousins and BFFs from very different backgrounds.
