PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
E! greenlit six original scripted movies for 2023 as the network expands into the romantic comedy genre. The pop-centric network will also premiere new series executive produced by Stephen Curry, Anthony Anderson and Joel McHale.
Bravo unveiled an unscripted slate that includes newly announced series “Real Girlfriends in Paris,” “Southern Charm: Leva Land” (wt) and “XSCAPE /SWV” (wt). In addition, a Wednesday, June 1 series premiere date has been set for “The Real Housewives of Dubai.”
Ice Cube has signed a multi-picture production deal with Luminosity Entertainment to co-produce a slate of feature films and TV series. The first film under the deal will be “Cube in My Head,” a comedy following a white man who hears the voice of Ice Cube in his head and starts to turn his life around. Production is scheduled for later this year.
Telemundo ordered several new scripted and unscripted series for its linear network and TPlus on Peacock. Wilmer Valderrama will executive produce “Keep This To Yourself,” an adaptation of Tom Ryan’s YA thriller. Dating experiment “Love Is Relative,” featuring singles trying to find love with their family’s approval, is in development for the TPlus brand, along with crime-oriented docuseries “Chicago Squad” and reality series “Viva Houston.”
Two of Telemundo’s Super Series will be back: “La Reina del Sur” continues for its third season and “El Señor de Los Cielos” for its eighth, joining new dramas including “El Conde” (starring Fernando Colunga), “El Rey: Vicente Fernández” (starring Jaime Camil), “María: La Mexicana,” “La Mujer de Mi Vida,” “Culpable o Inocente,” and “El Doctor de los Milagros.” “As we increase our investments in premium entertainment, news and sports content, we are truly maximizing the power of NBCUniversal’s TV and Streaming portfolio to help marketers reach the largest number of Latinos in the industry, at scale and in both languages, like no other media company,” said Beau Ferrari, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.
Discovery+ is in production on “The Culpos” (wt), following the lives of model and celebrity entrepreneur sisters Olivia, Sophia and Aurora Culpo. The series will premiere later this year.
Disney’s Onyx Collective ordered a limited docuseries on the political and cultural impact of Sabado Gigante. The four-part limited series, “Gigante,” will feature interviews with Don Francisco (Mario Kreutzberger) and tell the story of how immigrants from Latin American countries created an alliance to harness social capital, economic prowess and political influence in the United States. The series will stream exclusively on Hulu in the US, Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.
Discovery+ ordered “We Bought a Funeral Home,” a series of six-hour long episodes that document the journey of renovating and redecorating an 1800s Victorian funeral home in Ontario. The series is slated to air in October.
Tubi is set to remake classic Halloween movie “Terror Train” on the “Terror on Tubi” programming block. The reimagined film will be released just in time for Halloween this year.
Latin American docu-reality series “Los Montaner” will premiere on Disney+ later this year. The show will give audiences an inside look at the personal lives of one of the famous Latin American family, the Montaners. The ten-episode series is produced by NTERTAIN Studios with collaboration by the Disney Branded Television unscripted team.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Season two of “Top Gear America” premieres with two episodes on Friday, July 1. Hosts Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry and automotive expert Jethro Bovingdon will return to celebrate what they love about cars and attempt to reach 200 mph. The series will stream a new episode every Friday on MotorTrend+.
A new series celebrating everyday heroes, “American Anthems,” will premiere on PBS on June 24. The six-episode music-driven documentary series features original songs written and performed by Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles, Grammy nominees Lee Brice and Cam, Americana Duo The War and Treaty, and more. Each episode will follow a different featured country star as they meet a local hero and learn about their experiences and commitment to positive change in their community.
Disney+ will premiere the all-new series “Family Reboot” on June 15. The six-part series follows real families as they journey to reconnect and renew their relationships. The show comes from executive producers Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos of Milojo Productions in partnership with executive producers Julian P. Hobbs and Elli Hakami for Talos Films.
COMING UP
Off-Broadway stage production “Trevor: The Musical” will debut exclusively on Disney+ on June 24. The musical is based on the 1995 Academy Award-winning short film “Trevor,” which inspired the nonprofit organization The Trevor Project – the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for LGBTQ young people.
Peacock announced its new original film “They/Them” will premiere August 5. The LGBTQIA+ horror film is a queer empowerment story set at a gay conversion camp. Pronounced “They-slash-Them,” the film was created, written and directed by John Logan, and produced by Blumhouse.
NEO Studios will produce the live broadcast of “Global Titans Dubai” featuring Floyd Mayweather against Don Moore in an eight-round, exhibition matchup. The boxing event will broadcast live on May 14 at 2p on LIVENow. It will be the first NFT ticketed live streamed event.
Lifetime’s “The Bad Seed Returns,” executive produced, co-written and starring McKenna Grace, premieres Monday, May 30 at 8p.
STREAMING
Hulu and XBOX announced a partnership that will offer eligible Hulu subscribers three free months of PC Game Pass. Members will have access to over 100 games on Windows PC, with more added every week.
XUMO launched What to Watch channel, in partnership with Comcast and Xfinity. The new channel is a free ad-supported streaming TV service and will be a 24/7 linear channel dedicated to content discovery.
Shudder acquired “Revealer,” the feature debut from director Luke Boyce, fresh off its US premiere. The film will be available on June 23.
TECH TALK
Disney+ unveiled a new advertising-supported option, a month after it reported 137.7 million subscribers in its most recent fiscal quarter. “Advertisers have been asking for this for years,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Hulu will be a key piece of Disney’s offerings.
Podcast advertising grew two times faster in 2021 than the total internet ad market, according to the most recent IAB U.S. Advertising Revenue Study, with revenue expected to hit $4 billion by 2024. That’s in part due to an expanding user base and more content, but the increased use of automated ad tech has also played a major role in the audio explosion. “The report indicates significant growth ahead, with advertisers buying podcast impressions at scale while tracking delivery, effectiveness, recall and results,” said Eric John, Vice President, IAB Media Center. “Buyers will expect advanced brand safety solutions, audience targeting, and measurement.” Want to know more? Coming up is a Cynopsis special report that will explore the latest tools and opportunities for a business that shows no signs of slowing down.
CASTING
Peacock rounded out the remaining guest stars of the YA drama series “One of Us Is Lying.” Joe Witkowski (“The Wilds,” “Shadow in the Clouds”) and Doralynn Mui (“Riverdale,” “Deadly Class”) will recur throughout the second season. The show follows the story of what happens when five high schoolers walk into detention and only four walk out alive.
In a “Bridgerton” recast, Hannah Dodd is replacing Ruby Stokes as Francesca Bridgerton for season three. Stokes left to lead another Netflix series, “Lockwood & Co.” “Bridgerton” returns to production this summer in London.
GOING GLOBAL
About Premium Content secured a wave of international broadcast deals for its new Belgian political drama series, “Pandore.” The series premiered in February 2022 and iwas rated the most viewed TV series ever on Auvio, a Belgian catch-up service.
Banijay Asia announced an Indian adaptation of the Canadian psychological thriller, “Vertige.” The six-episode mini-series will be reimagined for the Indian audience.
Sky Soccer ordered four-part soccer docu-series “The Window” from Universal Pictures Content Group and Pitch Productions. The series will air on Sky Documentaries and through streamer Now in November in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Germany.
Brazilian streaming platform Globoplay signed a partnership with STARZPLAY to offer an exclusive streaming combination of both services under one subscription.
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