PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
At Crackle’s Upfront presentation in NYC on Wednesday, the streaming service announced a green light for scripted original drama The Oath (wt), from former LA County Sheriff’s deputy Joe Halpin (Hawaii Five-0). Exec produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television Inc., the series explores the culture of gangs sworn to protect and defend.
Acorn Media Enterprises is partnering with all3media International as North American co-producer for the final season of BBC One detective drama George Gently.
Entertainment One and Italy’s Palomar are teaming for new series Gaddafi, based on the life of Muammar Gaddafi and its lingering effects on the world. The international co-production is being developed by Roberto Saviano (Gomorrah) and created and written by Saviano and Nadav Schirman (The Green Prince).
Puerto Rico broadcast network WAPA TV is launching a new original comedy that will be the first TV production to mix the top comedic talent from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The new program, expected to launch within weeks, will simulcast live in the U.S. mainland on WAPA America, WAPA’s U.S. cable network arm.
Did you know Cynopsis celebrates its 20th anniversary this month? Thanks to our loyal community, Cynopsis has been the “first early morning read” for two decades. Enjoy our quick birthday video (special thanks to our friends at Situation Interactive for putting this together!). And please help us celebrate on social media this week by using the hashtag #cynopsis20. You’ll be entered for a chance to win gourmet cupcakes for your team.
AT THE UPFRONTS
National Geographic had big names and bigger events to toss around at its Upfront presentation at NYC’s Jazz at Lincoln Center on Wednesday night, including a six-part documentary series featuring Katie Couric, inspired by her personal journey making National Geographic documentary Gender Revolution. National Geographic, Shawn Carter and The Weinstein Company will partner on a new global documentary series, RACE (wt), a stark look into systemic injustices in America, and scripted anthology series Genius, which tells the untold stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators, got the green light for season 2. Also on the way: 6-part global event series The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman.
New scripted development projects include (working titles) The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution, The Hot Zone, recounting the true story of the Ebola virus, and a scripted series revealing how Nat Geo became a network. “This scripted development slate … proves that entertaining and smart are not mutually exclusive,” said Courteney Monroe, CEO, National Geographic Global Networks. “We are working with the best storytellers in the world to tell these very human stories that we hope will create global conversation and change the way viewers look at the world around them.”
Nat Geo WILD, which just saw The Incredible Dr. Pol have the most-watched season in network history, “continues to raise the bar when it comes to wildlife programming thanks to a clear understanding of its audience, steadfast commitment to its identity and innovative storytelling methods to deliver premium family-friendly content,” said Monroe. “Nat Geo WILD is vital to the National Geographic portfolio.” Coming up on WILD: a live broadcast from the Maasai Mara in Safari Live: Migration; the return of hit global miniseries event Savage Kingdom II: Uprising;, and SharkFest and Big Cat Week Lineups. Also coming up are new Series When Nature Calls and Pikes Peak Patrol. And the return, of course, of Dr. Pol.
A new digital venture, The National Geographic Further Community, was announced, aimed at advancing the brand’s role in science and exploration by partnering with a new cast of influencers to create original stories around travel, culture, science, innovation and wildlife. By utilizing advanced audience and emotional insights and targeting, the new digital network aims to provide advertisers with a new platform to reach an audience obsessed with social media, travel, science and entertainment, who prioritize high-quality life experiences.
At its Upfront on Wednesday, Freeform presented a programming lineup powered by premium original content and Disney properties including Marvel, ABC Studios and Disney theme parks. The net also emphasized its focus on digital efforts, and will continue its strategy of rolling out content on all Freeform platforms at launch, with some series available all at once. “Freeform is redefining what it means to be a television network for today’s consumer,” said Tom Ascheim, president of the Millennial-focused net.
Upcoming new series include mermaid drama Siren, premiering this summer; comedy Alone Together, focused on platonic best friends, as well as superpower drama Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, launching in early 2018. The net debuted characters for upcoming live-action comedy series Marvel’s New Warriors, and offered a trailer for drama The Bold Type, arriving Tuesday, July 11 at 9p.
The net’s first fan festival, “Freeform’s Summer Fling,” will debut in summer 2018 with performances, panels and meet-and-greets curated by influencers. And Freeform is partnering with People to develop multiple scripted, original movies based on stories from the pop culture entertainment magazine.
In an expansion of its “25 Days of Christmas” content, Freeform will present holiday special Decorating Disney, detailing the transformation of Disney destinations into winter wonderlands, and original movies Angry Angel (wt) and Life-Size 2, with Tyra Banks reprising her role as a doll who comes to life.
Telemundo’s Upfront event isn’t until Monday, May 15, but the Spanish-language net revealed its 2017 theme ahead of time, reflecting the changes taking place in Hispanic media: “Shift Happens.” “NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is dynamically redefining Hispanic Media with innovative programming that is not only setting a new standard, but most importantly representing the U.S. Latino experience,” said Cesar Conde, chairman, NBCUniversal International and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.
COMING UP
To mark the first anniversary of Prince’s death, Fuse and FM will honor the musician with programming, and purple logos. On Friday, April 21, FM will air half-hour special The Prince Effect, and blocks of music videos commemorating the “Purple One” will run from 8:30a-12:30p on Fuse and 8-9p on FM.
New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards will honor the best in TV and film at the 2017 gala on Tuesday, April 25, at NAB in Las Vegas. Tony Petitti, COO of Major League Baseball will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jane Lynch (Glee) will host National Geographic’s Earth Live, a two-hour event offering rare looks at the animal kingdom in real time, shot by wildlife cinematographers across the globe. “It’s going to be a groundbreaking, beautiful and action-packed wildlife symposium that will help viewers from all across the world better understand the animals that live around them,” said Lynch. Show premieres Sunday, July 9 at 8p.
History reveals the surprising beginnings of American superhero characters in 2-part doc Superheroes Decoded, premiering Sunday, April 30 and Monday, May 1 at 9p. Stan Lee (Marvel Comics), Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Civil War), George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) and more offer commentary.
LMN is premiering original movie The Wrong Bed: Naked Pursuit followed by Deadly Secrets By the Lake starting at 8p on Friday, June 2. The flicks are part of a multi-platform partnership between A+E Networks and Harlequin that also includes e-books and immersive digital and social experiences.
Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen will air from Hollywood for the first time the week starting Sunday, May 21. “We’ve been fantasizing about taking the show to LA for eight years,” said Cohen. “I feel like we’re hitting the big time.”
The Daily Show writer/contributor Michelle Wolf landed an HBO stand-up up special, slated to tape in New York this summer. “It’s HBO, it’s a dream,” said Wolf. “I’m mostly just trying not to get hit by a bus before I tape.”
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Adventure cameraman Mungo explores myths and legends (dragon-like reptiles, shape-shifting creatures and the like) in new Animal Planet series Expedition Mungo, launching Sunday, May 28 at 10p.
The title character in Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is heading to college, according to the trailer for season 3. (Kimmy, played by The Office’s Ellie Kemper, missed out on college while living in a doomsday cult’s underground bunker.) New season starts streaming May 19.
Tonight’s debut of Mysteries of the Abandoned on Science Channel explores California’s Goat Canyon Trestle railway, aka the “Impossible Railroad”; an anti-ballistic missile radar in Ukraine’s Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and the perilous Grades Goulets Road in the French Alps. Series premieres at 10p.
VIDEOS IN SHORT
Short-form dating show Phone Swap got the green light from Snapchat and UK-based Vertical Networks. The 12-parter, focused on strangers given access to their blind dates’ cell phones before they meet, will launch via Snapchat’s Discover platform.
ADVERTISING & BRANDS
In-house branded content agency Viacom Velocity released findings from a study exploring how the lines between brands, celebrities, fans, and mass media have faded. Among the takeaways from “The Culture of Proximity,” which was the basis for a documentary that aired on MTVU last night:
**Brands, celebrities, fans and content creators have started acting like each other – and only 11% of Millennials do not like when brands have online personalities akin to real people.
**People are on the same playing field as creators, with 61% of Millennials saying they can influence popular culture.
**The difference between real life and virtual is blurry – more than half of Millennials said they could fall in love with someone they only know online.
**For all the talk of authenticity, the ways people broadcast their identities is shifting. 70% of Millennials choose activities that will give them items to post, and almost 1/3 admit they post things to make their life look better than it really is.
Online business news channel Cheddar is teaming with Dunkin Donuts to give away antenna, in the hopes of luring Millennials to broadcast TV. Cheddar’s plan: lease broadcast airwaves from DTV America so it can air programming on UHF stations in 5 markets. Launched a year ago, Cheddar, which is distributed on Sling TV, Amazon Prime and its own app, announced a $10 million round of funding, including an investment from Comcast Ventures.
SOCIAL GOOD
NBC New York and Telemundo 47 anchors and reporters will be on hand Saturday, April 22 to help beautify Brooklyn Bridge Park, as part of the 16th annual Comcast Cares Day. “Comcast Cares Day is about giving back and making a difference within the many local communities WNBC proudly serves. It is also a fun and enjoyable day for our station team, who roll up their sleeves to help make a difference,” said Eric Lerner, president and GM of NBC 4 New York.
Looks like Comcast is doing it right with Comcast Cares Day – but as we’ve seen lately, it’s critical to hit the right note with Millennials and Gen Z who want TV networks and brands to make a difference in the world. To find out how to make your message count (and avoid missteps), join speakers from Y&R and AT&T in the May 23 Cynopsis webinar, Programming & Marketing Strategy for Social Good. Details are here.
CASTING
Sean Astin has been replaced by Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) in TNT’s upcoming drama The Alienist. TNT attributed the switch to “scheduling difficulties”; Astin had been juggling shooting The Alienist in Budapest with season 2 of Netflix’s Stranger Things in Atlanta.
GOING GLOBAL
Kabo comedy format Cops on the Block has been licensed in Ukraine to ICTV. The show was first commissioned in 2016 by M6 in France.
