DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION
An adaptation of Utopia, written by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), is headed to Amazon. Amazon Studios gave the thumbs up to a nine-ep straight-to-series order; Flynn will serve as creator, exec producer and showrunner. The US series is based on the British treatment created by Dennis Kelly and produced by Endemol Shine Group’s UK production studio Kudos. It previously had been at HBO with David Fincher and Flynn attached.
Paramount Network picked up 10 half-hour eps of First Wives Club, the comedic film reboot from Paramount Television. Tracy Oliver, the scribe behind Girls Trip, will write and serve as exec producer. Production will begin in NY this summer and the series will debut in 2019.
It’s a green light for season 2 of Discovery Channel docuseries Cooper’s Treasure, from Ample Entertainment (Murder in the Heartland) and Amblin Television. The new season of treasure hunting in the Bahamas will premiere this summer. Ari Mark, co-founder of Ample, said, “This season is truly remarkable. With unprecedented access to Bahamian waters and real life stakes, this next installation of our mystery-adventure series takes the genre to a whole other level.”
Hulu ordered 10 episodes of PEN15, a comedy about middle school created by and starring Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle. Erskine and Konkle play versions of themselves as 13-year-old outcasts in the year 2000, alongside actual 13-year-olds.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Telemundo will premiere its Luis Miguel series this Sunday, April 22 at 9p. It’s the only officially endorsed series about the Grammy-winning recording artist.
Sundance Now, AMC Networks’ premium video streaming service, acquired British TV series Motherland and will debut the first two episodes Thursday, May 10. Series, written and created by Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Divorce), follows a woman who always wanted her kids to be brought up like she was, by their mother. But instead her mother has abandoned her, so she struggles with the work-parenthood balance.
Using science as the foundation for stunts and practical jokes, SciJinks, the new science prank show hosted by Johnny Galecki, will premiere Wednesday, May 16 at 10p on Science Channel. Galecki, along with science “prankologists” Tamara Robertson and Jason Latimer, test out science on unsuspecting marks, drawing from chemistry, physics, technology, engineering and more.
Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis are back to mentor and judge culinary hopefuls in the new season of Food Network Star, premiering Sunday, June 10 at 9p on Food Network. Before the main competition gets started, Valerie Bertinelli and Tyler Florence return to co-host a new season of Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen, premiering on Sunday, May 27 at 9p, as eight former finalists battle it out to earn a spot on the new season. FoodNetwork.com’s Star Salvation, hosted by Alex Guarnaschelli, also returns to give finalists eliminated during the season a chance to rejoin the on-air competition.
CBS All Access’ latest original drama series, Strange Angel, will launch Thursday, June 14. New episodes of the series’ 10-ep first season will be available on demand weekly on Thursdays exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers.
ABC’s The Gong Show will return for a second season June 21, with Mike Myers as host and alter-ego British comedic legend Tommy Maitland. Additionally, Will Arnett returns to the revolving judges panel
COMING UP
Known for her love of bargain hunting at flea markets, Lara Spencer is hitting the road for the ultimate weekend getaway on her new Travel Channel special, Eat, Drink, Haggle, premiering Saturday, April 21 at 2p.
Jennifer Lopez joined the lineup of performers at the 2018 Billboard Latin Music Awards, airing live on Thursday, April 26 on Telemundo.
The Jazz Ambassadors, premiering Friday, May 4 at 10p on PBS, probes the story of music, diplomacy and race that explores how America’s most famous jazz musicians – Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman among them – became some of the country’s most important cultural ambassadors.
DIGITAL DATA
Jamie Foxx is onboard to host Off Script, an eight-part digital series produced by JASH (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Show With David Letterman) and The Sunshine Company. Foxx will interview Hollywood talent about the iconic moments that shaped their careers. Sarah Silverman, Benicio del Toro, Vince Vaughn, and Denzel Washington are among guests. Created by Grey Goose (Iconoclasts), series will be distributed online this spring via Thrillist and Now This social pages including Facebook and YouTube, and on Huffington Post and Yahoo.
Attorney Michael Cohen dropped two libel suits he was pursuing against BuzzFeed over the site’s publication of the alleged dossier that contains incriminating details about President Donald Trump.
ABC’s Good Morning, America had a big digital day. GMA launched a new website, a slate of original content for digital and social, and a new daily newsletter called the GMA Wake-Up. The new site features entertainment, wellness, health, food and travel stories, while the newsletter will deliver top stories of the morning and exclusive GMA content.
PBS Digital Studios launched Hot Mess, an original web series that breaks down the science behind climate change and its impact on populations. The series includes six episodes, with a new one streaming every Thursday on YouTube and Facebook Watch for the next six weeks.
Ceek Virtual Reality partnered with competition series World of Dance. Content from past events will be available to fans this summer featuring winners of last season on NBC, Les Twins, and other dancers.
123Wish launched a subscription-based, on-demand social experience app that provides a chance to win exclusive opportunities with celebrities, influencers, athletes, entrepreneurs, tastemakers and brands that support social causes.
123Wish is majority-owned by One Horizon Group.
CASTING
Tony and Emmy winner Tyne Daly will join the cast of Murphy Brown when it returns to CBS for the 2018-2019 season… Gino Vento (The Deuce, Bloodline) will recur on FX’s Mayans MC, the Sons of Anarchy spinoff.
