UPFRONT AT THE UPFRONTS
IFC is gangbusters for Brockmire and Documentary Now! Those are the toplines from the network’s Upfront yesterday, where it revealed it renewed the Hank Azaria-starring series for two additional seasons before season 2 premieres Wednesday, April 25. (“I didn’t think it was possible, we got darker than season 1,” said Azaria at the net’s annual luncheon. “It sort of made season 1 look like Saved By the Bell.”) Additionally, Documentary Now!, created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and Rhys Thomas, will be back with seven episodes that begin production in June and are slated to air in early 2019. One ep will pay homage to the multitude of historical space-race docs, another is inspired by 2012 doc Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. Among new IFC programming is Night Flight, a revival of the ‘80s pop culture show as a short form program, premiering Friday, April 20 at 1a; Bingo Night on IFC, debuting Thursday, April 26, with interactive weekly Bingo games during the breaks of the network’s primetime movies; and slow TV-inspired digital initiative Sloth TV.
PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Chelsea Handler is back. More than three years after she exited NBCUniversal, Handler inked a first-look producing deal with Universal Television for scripted series, and with Universal Television Alternative Studio for unscripted programming.
Writer/director Michael Showalter and his production shingle Semi-Formal Productions got a first-look deal with Annapurna Television to produce, direct and write. Deal covers a current project in development as well as future offerings.
Mixed martial arts league the Professional Fighters League is partnering with Mark Burnett, president of MGM Television Group & Digital and MGM Television to develop and produce new programming for PFL’s upcoming season. MGM and Burnett (Survivor, The Voice, Shark Tank, The Contender) will both join as PFL investors and Burnett joins the advisory board. The PFL 2018 league season debuts June 7 and consists of 11 events live on NBC Sports Network and Facebook Watch.
Facebook Watch docu series I Have A Secret may be headed to television thanks to a new deal between Vertical Networks and Electus International that will see the distributor shopping the series for adaptations at MIPTV in April.
Crackle original comedy series Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy started production in Malibu, CA. The digital network also announced the ensemble cast joining Riggle, who also serves as writer and executive producer: Britt Baron (Glow), Eliza Coupe (Future Man, Scrubs), Billy Merritt (Happy Endings), Dave (Gruber) Allen (Love), Alison Rich (The Goldbergs), Carl Tart (Comedy Bang! Bang!), Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks) and Rizwan Manji (Mr. Robot).
CBC and Warner Bros. International Television Production announced the return of the Format Incubator for a third round. Through April 23, Canadian producers are invited to submit ideas for original primetime unscripted formats with strong Canadian and international appeal. Format Incubator is a collaborative venture between CBC, WBITVP and the independent production community in Canada, aimed at boosting the creation of original, exportable television formats.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
BBC America’s female-amped original series Killing Eve premieres Sunday, April 8.
Real estate investors and home renovators David and Chenoa Rivera will transform outdated properties near Northern California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains in new HGTV series Rustic Rehab. Series premieres Thursday, April 26 at 11p.
The search for proof that extraterrestrial life exists continues as History series Ancient Aliens returns with a two-hour premiere Friday, April 27 at 9p.
WGN America acquired Emmy-nominated Tim Allen-starring sitcom Last Man Standing, and will add the series to the primetime lineup on Monday, April 30.
Bravo Media will bow season 3 of Below Deck Mediterranean on Tuesday, May 15 at 9p. This season cruises through scenic Italy, with Captain Sandy Yawn once again at the helm of the Talisman Maiton, the largest superyacht in Below Deck history.
New Starz original, six-ep series Wrong Man, which uncovers new theories and evidence that could prove the innocence of convicted inmates in three different cases, premieres Sunday, June 3 at 9p.
Fillmore Elementary educators are back in session when season 3 of Teachers debuts on TV Land on Tuesday, June 5 at 10:30p.
COMING UP
TBS is doing an on-air stunt with Tracy Morgan on April Fool’s Day. In Act A Fool With Tracy Morgan, the former 30 Rock-er guest programs the day. Among the films he selected to air leading up to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens airing at 8p are Head of State and The Nutty Professor. TBS’s The Last O.G., starring Morgan, premieres Tuesday, April 3 at 10:30p.
USA Network will again provide expanded access to WWE’s Wrestlemania throughout the week of April 2 with special event programming leading up to Wrestlemania along with the regularly scheduled Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live. In addition, WWE promotion will be featured across NBCU platforms to celebrate the brand’s annual pop culture extravaganza.
Kane Brown, Kelly Clarkson, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town and Jon Pardi join the lineup for the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards, airing live on CBS on Sunday, April 15 at 8p. Additionally, SEAL Team co-stars David Boreanaz, AJ Buckley and Max Thieriot, country act Cam, Dustin Lynch and Kiefer Sutherland, Ashton Kutcher, Sam Elliott and The Talk host Eve are in as presenters.
Rockers X Ambassadors are teaming with Bleeding Fingers Music on the original composition for Nat Geo Wild’s Earth Day special Symphony for Our World, which will premiere commercial-free on Sunday, April 22, at 7p. The one-hour celebration of planet Earth pairs artistry with science, combining Nat Geo natural history footage with an original symphony and theme music.
In harmony: Music artist Shawn Mendes will join James Corden for a weeklong residency on The Late Late Show With James Corden beginning Monday, June 4 on CBS. During the week, Mendes will perform new songs from his forthcoming album and join Corden for various Late Late Show segments.
DIGITAL DATA
More layoffs hit social platform Snap, with the majority affecting the advertising division, Bloomberg reports. In this third round of cuts since the beginning of the year, about 100 people are expected to lose their jobs. Related, the company has been taking some slack for its redesign, with Kylie Jenner and Chrissy Teigen both giving a thumbs down on their other socials.
Amazon stock slumped down more than 2 percent yesterday after President Trump tweeted his concern about the online behemoth’s impact on retail, among other things. “I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election,” Trump tweeted. “Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!”
Starz launched its Starz app on select LG smart TVs, including the recently debuted 2018 LG OLED TVs with AI ThinQ and LG Super UHD TVs with AI ThinQ.
Render Media, the startup behind social recipe site Cooking Panda and Opposing Views, is turning off the burner and shutting down.
ADVERTISING & MEASUREMENT
NBCUniversal will expand its self-service, programmatic media buying capabilities in its advanced advertising platform Audience Studio to include Adobe Advertising Cloud TV for automated, data-driven planning and buying of TV advertising. This offering allows marketers to plan, manage and optimize their media purchases through the creation of a private marketplace of NBCUniversal’s entire portfolio of broadcast and cable television. Advertisers will have access to advanced datasets to accurately target audiences and measure business outcomes attribute to TV investments, such as online purchases or time-spent on a brand’s website. Data available hails from leading third-party providers – including from pay TV providers, MRI and TV manufacturers, as well as first-party data from brands natively imported from Adobe Analytics Cloud.
CASTING
AMC is casting up for new series Dietland. Campbell Scott (House of Cards), Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Alanna Ubach (Girlfriends Guide to Divorce), Kelly Hu (Arrow), Marc Blucas (Underground), Ami Sheth (Blindspot) and Jen Ponton (30 Rock) have all joined.
The Leftovers alumna Amanda Warren and Colin Woodell (Unsane) are set for starring roles opposite leads Gabriel Chavarria and Jessica Garza in the upcoming series The Purge for USA Network and Syfy.
Amazon’s upcoming TV series Homecoming has added a second Oscar-winning actress, with Sissy Spacek (Carrie) set to recur opposite Julia Roberts in the project from Universal Cable Productions, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and Anonymous Content.
GLOBAL GOINGS-ON
Amazon scored UK and European rights to Disney series Cloak & Dagger and The Crossing.
