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Tuesday May 4, 2021

Today’s Finales:
NBC: Young Rock at 8p
PBS: Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr. at 8p
TLC: Outdaughtered at 8p

IN THE NEWS

NBC can’t get enough Dick Wolf. The network gave a straight to series order to “Law & Order: For The Defense,” a spinoff from Wolf’s venerable series. Wolf is partnering with Carol Mendelsohn, who helms the “CSI” series brands. The new drama will take viewers inside a criminal defense firm. Mendelsohn will serve as showrunner.

Gray Television is poised to become the second largest TV broadcast group in the US. The company is acquiring Meredith’s local media group of 17 stations in 12 markets for $2.7 billion, a deal it says catapults it to new status in the fast-consolidating industry. Meredith is spinning off its National Media Group—which includes magazines People, InStyle and Better Homes & Gardens—to shareholders, and Gray will then acquire all outstanding shares in a deal expected to close in Q4. The move comes a week after Allen Media acquired seven stations from Gray for $380 million.

Eighty-eight percent of respondents plan to watch the same or higher amounts of TV via paid streaming, according to new research from Tremor Video and Unruly. Among other findings from their 2021 Consumer Insights Report: 86 percent plan to watch live TV at the same or increased rates, 81 percent plan to maintain or increase their viewing of TV via free streaming (AVOD) and 61 percent report watching more TV now than before the outbreak of the pandemic.

The History Channel was recognized as the Factual Entertainment TV Brand of the Year, and was the highest ranked in the category, based on the 2021 Harris Poll EquiTrend Equity Score. “We are proud to once again be named Factual Entertainment TV Brand of the Year, which underscores the trust consumers have in our brand and our content,” Peter Olsen, A+E Networks’ President of Ad sales, tells Cynopsis. “This achievement recognizes the power of The History Channel and highlights the value that it brings to viewers and advertisers.”

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In development at Showtime is a series focusing on the years-long battle between Al Capone and Eliot Ness. Penned by Ben Jacoby (“Newsflash”), the project is based on the Max Allen Collins and A. Brad Schwartz nonfiction book Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness and the Battle for Chicago. It hails from Hideout, run by Heather Kadin, and CBS Studios.

Author Laura Hankin’s “A Special Place for Women” is headed to TV. Paramount Television Studios acquired rights to develop the mystery novel, due to be published in mid-May, into a series. Hankin will adapt and exec-produce the story, which centers on an elite female-run secret society. Samantha Bee and Kristen Everman will also exec-produce via their Swimsuit Competition banner.

There’s still a doctor in the house at ABC. The network renewed medical drama “The Good Doctor” for a fifth season, ABC’s first scripted renewal of the broadcast season.

More renewal news, this time at The CW. Freshman series “Kung Fu” will be back for a second season and “DC’s Supergirl” will get a third run—bringing the number of renewals for the 2021-22 season to 15.

And “Mayans MC” got a season 4 pickup at FX. The renewal comes ahead of the season 3 finale of the outlaw biker drama, slated to air Tuesday, May 11.

Production is under way on season 2 of “Emily in Paris,” which Netflix says is the streamer’s most popular comedy series of 2020 with viewership of 58 million. The Lily Collins-starring, Darren Star-created romcom will see the protagonist charming her way through the City of Lights, and other locales in France and St Tropez.

An agreement is in the works to bring a potential season 3 of DC Universe drama “Pennyworth” to HBO Max, with current series home Epix getting a second window. According to Deadline, producer Warner Bros. TV is negotiating to position the series, about the life of Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Pennyworth before he gains employment with Batman, with other HBO Max DC content.

Businesses have been investing in TV as the backbone of their marketing budgets for 70 years. Until recently, it was challenging to tell if this investment was justified – but not anymore, says Jessica Daigle, VP of Sales Intelligence, TEGNA, in Cynsiders.

NEWFRONTS

Amazon’s combined OTT streaming channels now reach more than 120 million monthly viewers of ad-supported content, up from 20 million viewers in January 2020. This among toplines from the company’s debut Newfronts appearance, during which Amazon credited gaming platform Twitch, IMDb TV and other live sports content for helping drive growth. Two-year-old AVOD service IMDb TV viewership rose 138 percent year-over-year, with more than 60 percent of viewers aged 18-49 and spending an average of 5.5 hours per week on the service, the company said.

Much of the spotlight was on IMDb TV, where a slate of new content is headed beginning this year. Dick Wolf, creator of the “Law & Order” and “Chicago” franchises will launch half-hour drama “On Call,” which follows a pair of police officers on patrol in Long Beach, CA. The series is in conjunction with digital studio ATTN. IMDb tv promises around 10 originals each year, with a series order to “High School,” a coming-of-age comedy based on the memoir from music artist siblings Tegan and Sara Quin. It also ordered a trio of unscripted series—“My Dirt Road Diary,” from country music artist and “American Idol” judge Luke Bryan, true crime doc “Bug Out” and an untitled design show from Jeff Lewis; and it’s developing projects including a new comedy from “The Good Place” creator Mike Schur and season 2 of “Top Class,” exec-produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted. IMDb also has a “Bosch” spinoff I the works. And Amazon offered a trailer for “Leverage,” a reimagining of the Dean Devlin, John Rogers and Chris Downey cult 2008 crime drama that will bow Friday, July 9.

Crackle Plus announced a new slateof originals and the fall launch of a “Chicken Soup for the Soul” AVOD network during its presentation yesterday. New sports docuseries “Promiseland,” feauring Ja Morant, and “Vince Carter: Legacy” are among new series, as is “Inside the Black Box,” which explores the role race plays in the entertainment industry.“Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story,” “Bel Canto” and “The Jesus Rolls” are among feature films headed to the streamer.

Crackle Plus’ newly acquired Sonar library will help power the launch of the new Chicken Soup For The Soul AVOD network, which will provide entertainment, inspiration and information that lifts their health, wealth, spirit, knowledge and relationships. Crackle Plus more than doubled content on its AVOD networks Crackle and Popcornflix, and added more than 200 hours of original and exclusive programming during the past year. The company also plans to launch 34 new consumer distribution touchpoints by the end of 2021.

Fubo TV is launching a branded content studio through which advertisers can create custom branded content to air on Fubo Sports Network. During its NewFront the company also touted new and returning shows from Terrell Owens, Matthew Hatchette and Gilbert Arenas, and a partnership with LiveRamp to enhance its addressable advertising capabilities. Fubo signed soccer talent Pablo Zabaleta and Melissa Ortiz to lead original programming for its exclusive streaming of the South American Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifying matches. The company closed 2020 with nearly 548,000 subscribers, an increase of 73 percent year-over-year. Advertising revenue grew 133 percent year-over-year to $29 million with advertising average revenue per user (ad ARPU) reaching $8.47, an increase of 52 percent from the prior year.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Today is Star Wars Day, and Disney+ is marking the occasion with new original series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” The shortform series, which launches with a Maggie Simpson bit, includes dispatches from “The Simpsons” and multiple themed cinematic experiences in celebration of a galaxy far, far away.

Docu-series “9 Months with Courteney Cox” is back for a third season on Facebook Watch on Mother’s Day, May 9 at 2p. Cox gives viewers a window as featured families experience ups and downs in their pregnancy journeys.

Netflix dropped a trailer for “Halston,” its limited series about the legendary fashion designer that debuts Friday, May 14. The Ewan McGregor-starring vehicle follows the man behind Halston from his emergence in the worldwide fashion empire that’s synonymous with luxury, sex and status, through the hostile takeover that takes the Halston name from him.

New episodes of “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” season 8, and “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living,” season 2, debut on BET on Tuesday, May 25 at 9p. The network also renewed the hit comedies for ninth and third seasons, respectively, leading up to the new seasons.

Seven winning alumni teams from “The Great Food Truck Race” return to decide once and for all which truck is the ultimate champ in “The Great Food Truck Race: All-Stars,” premiering Sunday, June 6 at 9p on Food Network. Hosted by Tyler Florence, the six-ep series will travel around San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Sunday, June 13 is the date for the season 2 premiere of animated series “Tuca & Bertie” on Adult Swim. Featuring the voices of Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, the series, formerly on Netflix, follows best friends who also happen to be hosts for ghosts.

Country duo Big & Rich’s Big Kenny will star in a new series on Circle Network called “Big Kenny’s Crank It Up Garage.” Slated to premiere Thursday, July 8 at 8:30p, the 10-ep series will feature outrageous custom creations—from cars and motorcycles to boats and planes—and their builders.

COMING UP

TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” is taking the comedic route to discuss the very serious issue of gun reform. Special “Full Frontal Wants To Take Your Guns” airs Wednesday, May 12 at 10:30p.

“Saturday Night Live” will close out its 46th season with three new shows in May. Host Elon Musk and musical guest Miley Cyrus kick things off May 8; Keegan-Michael Key will host for the first time May 15, with musical guest Olivia Rodrigo; and Anya Taylor-Joy will make her hosting debut May 22, with Lil Nas X as musical guest.

Stand-up comedian Tig Notaro will return to HBO this summer with a fully animated stand-up special; Ellen DeGeneres serves as exec producer.

STREAMING SNIPPETS

Apple Original Films scored Tom Hanks–starring film “Finch,” a sci-fi pic from Amblin Entertainment previously called “Bios.” Originally intended to be released by Universal, the feature directed by Miguel Sapochnik will now premiere on Apple TV+ later this year.

Amazon Prime Video will beginexclusively airing “Thursday Night Football” in 2022, one year ahead of schedule. The streamer forked over $1 billion per year for rights to the games as part of a long-term media package exceeding $100 billion.

TECH TALK

The Epic battle between game developers and Apple is getting its day in court. Epic Games yesterday accused Apple of pocketing billions of dollars off the work of developers, even as it claims it didn’t intend to profit from its App Store. Epic Games, which created Fortnite, last summer updated its Fortnite iPhone app so users could pay the gaming company directly and bypass the Apple payment system. Apple responded by pulling the app from the App Store; Epic sued. The companies agreed to a bench trial, which will be decided by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of US District Court for Northern California in Oakland.

Yahoo and AOL are getting a new home. Verizon will sell its media assets—led by the two brands—to Apollo Global Management and related entities for a price tag of $5 billion. Verizon will retain a 10 percent stake in the new company, to be known as Yahoo and continue to be helmed by CEO Guru Gowrappan.

Facebook’s Oversight Board set Wednesday, May 5 as the date it’ll announce the fate of Donald Trump’s account. The social network banned the now-former president following the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

Her Campus, the media portfolio focused on college women and Gen Z, will hold a second virtual graduation ceremony, “Graduation 2021: To the Future,” on Friday, May 14 at noon. Bebe Rehxa, Diane von Furstenberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Brie and Nikki Bella, Katie Couric, Attorney General Letitia James, Mariska Hargitay, Jamie Chung, Sanya Richards-Ross, Tan France, Whitney Wolfe Herd and more will be part of the digital broadcast on cheerstothefuture.com.

HauntTV and Crimetime, Blue Ant Media’s free ad-supported streaming channels, are now available to stream on Samsung TV Plus in Canada. The partnership builds on Blue Ant Media’s expansion into the FAST channel space, and includes series “Paranormal Survivor,” “See No Evil” and “In Ice Cold Blood.”

CASTING NOTES

Alexander Skarsgard snagged a recurring role in season 3 of HBO’s “Succession” in a recurring role… Luke Evans will star in Apple action drama series “Echo 3”… Jessica Williams and Chris “Comedian CP” Powell joined for season 2 of HBO Max’s “Love Life.”

Amazon’s young adult drama “The Wilds” added a cast of eight actors for season 2: Zack Calderon, Aidan Laprete, Nichoals Coombe, Charles Alexander, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Reed Shannon, Tanner Ray Rook and Alex Fitzalan are set to appear in the upcoming run.

“1899,” the European Netflix series, set its cast. Joining Emily Beecham are Aneurin Barnard (“The Goldfinch”), Andreas Pietschmann (“Dark”), Miguel Bernardeau (“Elite”), Maciej Musial (“The Witcher”), Anton Lesser (“Game of Thrones”), Lucas Lynggaard Tonnesen (“The Rain”), Rosalie Craig (“London Road”), Clara Rosager (“The Rain”), Maria Erwolter (“The Ritual”), Yann Gael (“Sakho & Mangane”), Mathilde Ollivier (“Overlord”), Jose Pimentao (“Al Berto”), Isabella Wei, Gabby Wong, Jonas Bloquet, Fflyn Edwards and Alexandre Willaume.

GOING GLOBAL

Japan-based Gusto TV launched its AVOD streaming service on Rakuten TV in Europe. Gusto TV’s culinary content will be available in the UK, Estonia, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

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TV Time Binge Report for the week of April 26
Shadow and Bone (Netflix) – 3.43%
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC US) – 2.26%
The Circle (US) (Netflix) – 2.04%
One Piece (Fuji TV) – 1.91%
Modern Family (ABC US) – 1.76%
Attack on Titan (NHK) – 1.54%
The Office (US) (NBC) – 1.18%
Friends (NBC) – 1.09%
Naruto Shippuden (TV Tokyo) – 1.08%
The Walking Dead (AMC) – 1.08%

Shareablee Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of April 26
Program, Platform, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
Shadow and Bone (Netflix) 2.5M, 87, 29,280, 448K
Lucifer (Netflix) 2.3M, 15, 156,408, 7.2M
Invincible (Amazon Prime) 705K, 34, 20,742, 93K
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), 697K, 42, 26,590, 2.1M
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+) 558K, 11, 50,759, 924K
Get Organized With The Home Edit (Netflix) 491K, 47, 10,444, 5.6M
Nanatsu No Naizai (Netflix) 398K, 52, 7,657, 809K
One Piece (Hulu) 341K, 12, 28,448, 3.5M
Selena: The Series (Netflix) 335K, 12, 27,891, 294K
The Circle (Netflix) 316K, 35, 9,041, 364K

Shareablee Top 10 TV Shows for the week of April 26
Program, Network, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
The Daily Show (Comedy Central) 4M, 142, 27,933, 27.8M
Hannity (Fox News) 3.5M, 259, 13,345, 10.9M
Ellen DeGeneres (WB/Syndicated) 2.2M, 64, 33,684, 208.4M
Entertainment Tonight (CBSMV/syndicated), 2.1M, 737, 2,815, 9.2M
Today Show (NBC) 1.7M, 934, 1,823, 13.8M
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out (MTV) 1.1M, 33, 31,974, 14.9M
The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) 1M, 64, 15,905, 13.3M
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) 970K, 191, 5,078, 4.8M
Good Morning America (ABC) 902K, 1,045, 863, 14.4M
Pose (FX) 771K, 73, 10,557, 909K

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, April 30
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: “The NFL Draft” 2.01 (0.5), “The NFL Draft” 1.94 (0.4), “The NFL Draft” 1.52 (0.4)
CBS: “MacGyver” 4.34 (0.4), “Magnum P.I.” 5.11 (0.4), “Blue Bloods” 2.39 (0.3)
CW: “World’s Funniest Animals” 1.02 (0.2),“Penn & Teller: Fool Us” 0.94 (0.1)
ION: “Hawaii Five-0” 1.09 (0.2), “Hawaii Five-0” 1.02 (0.2), “Hawaii Five-0” 0.88 (0.2)
FOX: “WWE Friday Night Smackdown” 1.88 (0.5), “WWE Friday Night Smackdown” 1.97 (0.5)
NBC: “The Blacklist” 3.30 (0.3), “Dateline NBC” 3.13 (0.4), “Dateline NBC” 3.31 (0.4)
Telemundo: “Exatlon” 0.98 (0.3), “Suerte de Loli” 0.89 (0.3), “Buscando Frida” 1.09 (0.3)
Univision: “Disenando Tu Amor” 1.37 (0.4), “Te Acuerdas De Mi” 1.43 (0.4), “Hija Del Embajador” 1.36 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

VidCon hired Nicole Leo as director of creator partnerships. She previously served as director of celebrity and influencer marketing strategy at Blended Strategy Group for clients such as Revlon and Johnson & Johnson.

Crown Media Family Networks appointed former Moxy Media head Toni Judkins as SVP, programming & development for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. In addition, longtime Hallmark content executive Jessica Callahan has been promoted to VP, programming & development.

AGC Studios hired B.J. Levin as EVP, non-fiction. Levin served as SVP, development & original programming at NBCUniversal and most recently was showrunner of FX’s “Hip Hop Uncovered.”

Joy Ganes, former VP of business and legal affairs at BBC Studios, is joining Tracy Oliver’s studio Tracy Yvonne Productions.

CNBC brought on Valerie Castro, former “The Evening Report produced by NBC News” for Quibi anchor as correspondent for “The News with Shepard Smith,” and Kristina Partsinevelos, formerly at Fox Business Network, as a general assignment reporter for “Business Day.” The network also promoted Maria Boden to executive producer of “The Exchange” and “Power Lunch,” and Marc Gilbert to executive producer of “TechCheck.”

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the name of the soap opera “Schitt’s Creek” (2015-20) matriarch Moira once starred on? Sunrise Bay Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NY; Russ Camlet/NJ; Jeremy Cyril-Just Ducky/Toronto; Eric Dunefsky-Crossmedia/NY; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Diane Herndon-HLK/Kansas City; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank; Ken DuBow-Access Entertainment/LA; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; David Westberg-SAG*AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
What weekly series ran under five different titles and aired at different times on ABC, NBC and CBS? Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)