PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
ITV ordered Deep Water, a female-led relationship drama to be produced by Kudos. Written by Anna Symon (Indian Summers) and adapted from the Windermere novels by author Paula Daly, the project centers on the lives of three women living in the Lake District.
American Housewife EPs, Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz, signed a new three-year overall deal with ABC Studios. The pair will continue as executive producers of the hit comedy, which is in its second season.
Wes Kauble, co-creator of FOX’s Beat Shazam, inked an overall production deal with Endemol Shine North America. Under the pact’s terms he’ll create original unscripted series and formats via his Interrobang Entertainment banner. The focus will be on developing new game and competition series.
UPFRONTS UPDATES
A year ago, A&E returned to its nonfiction roots, doubling down on non-scripted and documentary series. Since the move, the net has seen12 consecutive months of viewer growth in February, thanks to series like Live PD, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath and 60 Days In, and is back in the Top 10. Which explains why A&E announced it has renewed Remini’s series and greenlit four new shows, ahead of its Upfronts on Thursday. A&E’s programming list includes Many Sides of Jane, centered on a single mother with Dissociative Identity Disorder; Lost for Life, about a recent Supreme Court ruling that gives juveniles once sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole the ability to have their cases re-evaluated; The Accused, following individuals maintaining their innocence after being accused of a crime; and Employable Me, focusing on adults with disabilities searching for their dream jobs.
ION Television launched its national B2B campaign in support of its 2018-2019 Upfront season, “ION Television Quality Shows”, showcasing its lineup of original programs and series, strength of reach, and commitment to guaranteed delivery for advertisers. Its lineup of series includes Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU and NCIS: Los Angeles. The net notes its access to 100 million households includes the growing and younger-skewing over-the-air homes audience. Jason Priestley-led Private Eyes (averaging 451,000 A25-54, 1.4 million total viewers) and holiday movies (ranked #2 vs. competitive networks) continues to drive ratings.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition returns on Sunday, April 15 at 9p on Food Network. Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence will lead recruits Catherine Bach, Maria Bamford, Nolan Gould, La Toya Jackson, Oscar Nunez, Bronson Pinchot and Ian Ziering through an intense culinary boot camp.
NBC and Litton Entertainment educational series Health + Happiness with Mayo Clinic bows April 7 as part of the network’s Saturday morning programming block. Hosted by Joy Bauer, the show centers on how simple lifestyle changes can make a huge difference in health, well-being and attitude.
The Last O.G. debuts Tuesday, April 3 at 10:30p on TBS.
COMING UP
The President Show returns to Comedy Central on Tuesday, April 3 at 11p with hour-long special, Make America Great-A-Thon: A President Show Special. President Trump, played by creator/EP Anthony Atamanuik, will host a telethon to raise money for projects he can’t get anyone in Congress to fund.
USA Network’s second annual broadcast of the Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina airs Sunday, April 1 at 6p. John O’Hurley and noted dog show judge David Frei co-host.
The Art of Shine premieres on Independent Lens Monday, April 9 on PBS. Film takes an eye-opening look at the world of professional shoe shiners.
The legacy of the late Stephen Hawking will be celebrated with encore presentations of Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking on Thursday, March 15 at 9a and Saturday, March 17 at 8p and Stephen Hawking’s Grand Design on Thursday, March 15 at 6a on Discovery Channel. Also, Science Channel is airing Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking on Thursday, March 15 at 3a and Friday, March 16 at 4p; Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking on Thursday, March 15 at 5a, and Stephen Hawking’s Grand Design on Friday, March 16 at 7p.
Secrets of the Dead: Hannibal in the Alps bows Tuesday, April 10 at 8p on PBS (check local listings). Doc follows Hannibal’s army making it across the Alps to launch a surprise attack on Rome.
ADVERTISING
Kantar and Placed struck a partnership that will integrate Kantar’s ad experience and shopper data with Paced’s location-based intelligence. The combination of Placed’s understanding of location-based activity associated with 300 million smartphones with Kantar’s consumer knowledge will help determine the effectiveness of ad spend by directly linking ad exposure to store visits and actual product purchase and spending data.
CASTING
Be our guest: Alec Baldwin is set to guest on NBC’s Will and Grace on Thursday, March 29 at 9p…. Nathan Fillian will appear on a pair of ABC’s American Housewife episodes later this season…. Zole Palmer (Lost Girl) is guesting on Season 3 of Syfy’s Wynonna Earp.
Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally) nabbed the male lead opposite Kiernan Shipka in Netfix’s Sabrina series…. Amazon’s straight-to-series Homecoming added to its cast. Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) was signed as a regular, with Hong Chau (Downsizing), Jeremy Allen White (Shameless) and Sydney Poitier (Chicago PD) were tapped for recurring roles.
Christine Lahti (Chicago Hope) landed a main role in FOX’s untitled drama pilot based on the book Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane…. Sarah James (Damnation, The Path) was set as the female lead in CBS drama pilot L.A. Confidential… Dave Annable and Anna Wood (Reckless) were tapped as male and female leads. in CBS drama pilot The Code.
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KID STUFF
Season 2 of Ready Jet Go! blasts off Monday, April 2 on PBS KIDS with a special week of girl-empowering episodes (check local listings).
DIGITAL DATA
NBC News executives are contemplating the launch of a live-streaming service that would be separate from NBC and MSNBC. Andrew Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, announced the news while speaking to reporters on Wednesday. “We want to do this, and I think we’ve got to open that door,” said Lack.
A new report from The Diffusion Group, The Future of Direct-to-Consumer Video Services – Analysis & Forecasts 2018-2028, finds that the unbundling of cable TV packages will accelerate over the next five years, with all major TV networks launching standalone direct-to-consumer streaming services by 2022. “Big media companies are reacting boldly to changes in TV viewing behavior,” said Mike Berkley, TDG senior advisor and author of the report. “Consolidating, bulking up on originals and marketing directly to consumers are driving their strategic direction.”
Netflix is adapting Italian animated franchise Winx Club as a live-action young adult series. The show’s six fairies will turn into real teenagers as they learn to hone their powers while living together in a magic boarding school.
Facebook Watch’s The Tattoo Shop debuts Thursday, March 15, followed by the premiere of the live and viewer interactive tattoo experience, Mystery Tattoo, on Friday March 16 at 9p. Viewers can tune in to both on The Tattoo Shop show page.
Dream the Future, a new doc that travels through time to experience the year 2050, bows on CuriousityStream on Thursday, March 15.
ReachMe TV is launching ReachMe Sports. The new division reached multiyear production, programming and distribution partnerships with Audience Network, Sports Illustrated and the Players’ Tribune.
GOING GLOBAL
MIPTV’s 2018 Medailles d’Honneur will be awarded to Pascal Breton, CEO, Federation Entertainment (France), Teresa Fernandez-Valdez, Executive Producer, Bambu Producciones (Spain), Izzet Pinto, Founder and CEO, Global Agency (Turkey) and Weidong Yang, President of Youku, Alibaba Digital and Entertainment Group (China). Ceremony takes place in Cannes, France on Wednesday, April 11.
