PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
A series inspired by Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures is in development at Nat Geo. Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping, the film’s exec producers, are set to serve the same role on the TV project based on the story of three brilliant African American women working at NASA at the time of the 1969 Apollo moon landing.
Chicago P.D. showrunner Rick Eid signed a two-year overall deal with Universal TV, the studio behind the successful NBC series. Eid will continue as showrunner and exec producer on the drama, which celebrated its 100th episode this winter.
History is joining with the King Center to observe the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King for short form content Mountaintop Moments, based on King’s landmark “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, and features prominent Americans from diverse backgrounds sharing their hope for the future and how they see King’s vision alive in the world today. Videos will run on-air and across History’s digital and social platforms throughout 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of King’s death.
Paramount Network has inked its first pilot order. The Viacom net, which launched in January to succeed the former Spike, gave a green light to a pilot for First Wives Club, a half-hour comedy from Tracy Oliver, who penned Girls Trip, and Paramount Television. The project is based on the 1996 film from Paramount Pictures.
Amazon greenlit Lorena, a Prime original series exec-produced by Jordan Peele and produced by Monkeypaw and Sonar Entertainment. Directed by documentary filmmaker Joshua Rofe (Lost for Life), Lorena is a four-part doc series that probes the case of John Wayne and Lorena Bobbitt and challenges the long-held narrative that surrounded this event.
The roaring twenties will return, as Shaftesbury’s prohibition-era-Frankie Drake Mysteries is renewed for a second season by CBC, UKTV, and Kew Media Group.
FX Networks ordered a pilot for Y, based on the post-apocalyptic sci-if comic book series Y: The Last Man. Michael Green (American Gods) and Aida Mashaka Croal will serve as co-show runners and will exec produce alongside Matsoukas (Insecure, Master of None), Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force, and Brian K. Vaughan (Marvel’s Runaways, Saga).
Discovery Channel ordered Book of Hines (wt). Produced by This Just a Test, the unscripted series follows former covert military man and his family as they make a move to live off-grid.
Universal Cable Productions and producer Scott Glassgold’s Ground Control, a management and production company specializing in film shorts, are teaming to create the “Universal Cable Productions and Ground Control Film Lab,” an initiative to find and nurture the next generation of groundbreaking storytellers. The lab will challenge aspiring filmmakers to submit a sample of their directorial/visual style, as well as an original television program concept, for a chance to have the opportunity to develop a television project with UCP.
Forte, a supernatural musical drama, is in development at Fox. Series is based on the Fox International series Cumbria Ninja, and is from Cumbria Ninja writer Justin Lo (Parenthood, Mistresses), producer Ben Silverman (Jane the Virgin), former Devious Maids star Roselyn Sanchez and Eric Winter (Secrets and Lies). The story is set in Miami, where magical beings have been living among humankind for decades.
A female-POV comedy based on Nick Hornby novel High Fidelity is in the works for Disney’s upcoming direct-to-consumer service. According to Deadline, the project comes from writers Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka (Bull, Ugly Betty), the Midnight Radio producing team and ABC Signature Studios, the cable and streaming division of ABC Studios.
Dark comedy Dead To Me has been given a 10-episode order from Netflix. From writer Liz Feldman (2 Broke Girls), Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gloria Sanchez Productions, and CBS TV Studios, story follows a strong friendship that emerges between an uptight widow and a free spirit who harbors a big secret. Feldman is exec producing with Ferrell, McKay and Jessica Elbaum.
The Cynopsis Upfronts/NewFronts portal is more than just a calendar of events. Media buyers and planners looking for news and updates on networks and others with a message to send this season will find everything they need here.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Smithsonian Channel will debut two new aerial adventures on Sunday, April 8 – Aerial Cities at 8p and Aerial Africa at 9p. The new series follow in the flight path of a previous success for the network and production exec Charles Poe. “Fans of Aerial America will recognize the formula – soaring journeys filled with surprising stories and amazing sights,” Poe, SVP, production, Smithsonian Channel, tells Cynopsis. “Only this time we’re taking a deeper, day-in-the-life look at our country’s greatest cities in Aerial Cities, revealing how they run, what makes them distinctive and how their citizens make them home. So much of their vibrant life is best seen by air, and even if you’re a native of Seattle or Chicago or Las Vegas, we bet you’ll discover something new and unexpected.”
WWE Superstars Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, John Cena and Daniel Bryan will return with an inside look at their lives outside of the ring in a new season of Total Bellas, premiering Sunday, May 20 at 9p on E!
The CW Network acquired new 10-episode legal drama Burden of Truth from Entertainment One (eOne). Series, about a big-city lawyer who returns to her hometown to take on what she thinks is a simple case, will bow on the network this summer.
It’s 10 times a charm for Iron Chef America, which returns to Food Network with a new 10-ep season beginning Wednesday, May 16 at 9p.
Universal Kids is expanding its slate of content across the next 18 months including DreamWorks Animation Television’s new original series, DreamWorks Where’s Waldo?, based on the global publishing hit. Universal Kids will also debut eight series from the DreamWorks library, including the DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge and The Adventures of Puss in Boots.
Bounce is allowing affiliates to air the HD season 3 premiere episode of the network’s drama series Saints & Sinners on their primary channels between April 10-14. The opportunity allows stations to promote their carriage of Bounce and encourage sampling of the series, which debuts on Bounce this Sunday.
COMING UP
HDNET Movies celebrates action icon Chuck Norris with a six-film marathon in the Nonstop Norris block on Saturday, April 7. Titles include Hero and the Terror, Silent Rage and Invasion U.S.A.
Lampoon alumni and Veep executive producer David Mandel, Simpsons executive producer Al Jean and longtime Saturday Night Live writer Jim Downey will stop by CBS’ 60 Minutes this Sunday, April 8 to discuss for a rare peak into the selective membership ritual of the elusive Harvard mainstay, the first step for many toward a career in comedy. Jon Wertheim also gets a firsthand account from a staffer of being threatened by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer after the Lampoon pulled an epic prank on Trump when he was still a candidate.
Actress, producer and best-selling author Gabrielle Union and three-time NBA champ Dwyane Wade will take a break from their day jobs to complete a major home transformation in HGTV special All-Star Flip. In a twist for the couple’s fans, they’ll showcase their love of home renovation in the half-hour special, which premieres Thursday, April 12, at 9:30p.
Acorn TV’s May slate includes two new-to-the-network series – BBC Wales drama series Keeping Faith, and Australian comedy Sando, premiering May 21.
AXS TV salutes the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with a loaded Saturday Stack lineup of concert films, interviews, docs and more featuring some of the Hall’s most iconic inductees including Rush, the Doors and Lynyrd Skynyrd on Saturday, April 14 – t The Sling International app is now available on the Xfinity X1 platform. Xi customers can access Sling’s catalog of more than 395 international channels… In related news, Fuse Media’s flagship network is available to Sling TV subscribers.
Looks like Sonos may be preparing for an IPO. In the past month, the connected-speaker manufacturer has posted ads search for applicants with public company experience to fill key legal and finance roles; one listing mentions that Sonos is preparing its financial reporting in compliance with rules for public companies.
HITN TV will take over management of VidaySalud.com, the online source of health information in Spanish. Every month, this site hosts more than 2.5 million unique page views, sends more than 6 million emails to its subscribers, and interacts with 600,000 plus followers on social media.
Amazon Prime Video will present an immersive For Your Consideration (FYC) Emmy experience around its content including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Mozart in the Jungle, The Dangerous Book for Boys and Long Strange Trip. It’s the second consecutive year the service will put on the experience, which will take place at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Hollywood, CA, April 12 and 27, and include screenings and panels with series cast and creators.
he night of the 33rd annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony.
ADVERTISING & MEASUREMENT
NBCUniversal announced the industry’s first unified advertising metric, measuring all live, on-demand and time-shifted commercial impressions on every viewing platform. Called CFlight, the new impressions-based metric delivers comprehensive representation of clients’ marketing campaign’s advertising exposures within full episodes of shows across all screens. Additionally, NBCU will use this metric to create a new currency, guaranteeing campaign performance in its programming. CFlight will be based on a composite score developed from independent, third party sources to equate linear and digital media viewing.
TBS and TNT are planning to adopt 21st Century Fox’s TrueX ads, after working for six months with TruX to test interactive ads with desktop visitors. Among results from the trial run, one-fourth of people opted to interact with the ads to have fewer ads interrupt their viewing. Now, the networks are exploring to find other viewers who are more likely to interact with those spots, according to Digiday, which reports last year TBS and TNT began gathering more information from people including names, email addresses and phone numbers, in order to tie what people do on its digital properties to those identities.
Altice USA unveiled a new brand name for its advanced advertising and data business – a4. The new group, in the works as Altice has integrated its US systems and acquisitions, will work to deliver audience-based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional and national advertisers and MVPD partners. Altice USA acquired Audience Partners, a provider of privacy-compliant, authenticated IP addressability technology, in May 2017, and Placemedia, which provides supply-side programmatic ad solutions, this February.
CASTING
Karl Urban scored the lead in Amazon’s straight to series superhero drama The Boys…. Mexican host Marco Antonio Regil will join Un Nuevo Dia, Telemundo’s Emmy-winning morning show, starting Monday, April 16. Regil joins Rashel Díaz and Adamari Lopez, to host the morning news and entertainment live show that airs daily at 7a.
DIGITAL DATA
The Sling International app is now available on the Xfinity X1 platform. Xi customers can access Sling’s catalog of more than 395 international channels… In related news, Fuse Media’s flagship network is available to Sling TV subscribers.
Looks like Sonos may be preparing for an IPO. In the past month, the connected-speaker manufacturer has posted ads search for applicants with public company experience to fill key legal and finance roles; one listing mentions that Sonos is preparing its financial reporting in compliance with rules for public companies.
HITN TV will take over management of VidaySalud.com, the online source of health information in Spanish. Every month, this site hosts more than 2.5 million unique page views, sends more than 6 million emails to its subscribers, and interacts with 600,000 plus followers on social media.
Amazon Prime Video will present an immersive For Your Consideration (FYC) Emmy experience around its content including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Mozart in the Jungle, The Dangerous Book for Boys and Long Strange Trip. It’s the second consecutive year the service will put on the experience, which will take place at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Hollywood, CA, April 12 and 27, and include screenings and panels with series cast and creators.
GOING GLOBAL
A+E Networks has set MIPTV for the launch of four new entertainment formats: Love at First Flight, Glam Masters, Vintage Queens and Snap Decision.
