A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY

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WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY
OUR STORY STARTS WITH YOU

Today’s Premieres
Fox: Don’t Forget the Lyrics! at 8p; and Beat Shazam at 9p

Today’s Finales
CBS: The Neighborhood at 8p; Bob Hearts Abishola at 8:30p; NCIS at 9p; NCIS: Hawaii at 10p
CW: All American at 8p;All American: Homecoming at 9p

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM KATZ DIGITAL VIDEO
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IN THE NEWS

Four veteran cast members signed off from “Saturday Night Live.” Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney are all exiting the NBC series and had their swan song Saturday night on the episode hosted by Natasha Lyonne. The theme of the night was a throwback to the time, more than a decade ago, when the venerable show used to give departing cast members more formal sendoffs. McKinnon has been on the show for 11 seasons (her last show marked her 211th episode, more than any woman in “SNL” history), Bryant has been with the team for 10, Mooney for nine and Davidson for eight seasons.

Get ready to return to the Upside Down. Netflix released the first eight minutes of the first episode of the upcoming season of “Stranger Things.” The streamer said it will debut the first seven episodes of the nine-ep fourth season on Friday, May 27; the final two eps will be released on July 1 as Volume 2. The new season picks up as the band of friends, separated for the first time, deal with aftermath of the destruction their town of Hawkins was dealt last season, the complexities of high school and a new supernatural threat.

Reginald Hudlin and Done+Dusted will be back to produce the 74th Emmys this year. The 2022 run will marks the third consecutive year that the “House Party” director and his Hudlin Entertainment will exec-produce and the fifth year for the British production company. The awards are slated to air on NBC on Monday, September 12. No host or venue has been announced.

The WWE “suspended indefinitely” Sasha Banks and Naomi, and stripped the tag team of their titles after they refused to participate in a match last week at “Monday Night Raw.” Their suspension was announced on the “WWE Friday Night SmackDown,” with a tournament held to crown new champions.

Who’s making promises they can keep?
It’s been anything but business as usual this upfront season, as media companies and advertisers search for enhanced analytics and insights to better target and measure audiences. There have been promising partnerships and pilot tests, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Determining what’s right for your company means up close, interactive explorations of the latest tools and tech, with experts on hand to answer questions specific to your business. And that’s what you’ll find at the Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference, reimagined to help solve for the new measurement landscape. It’s coming up soon – you can register here.

TICK TOCK…TIME IS RUNNING OUT

We want to honor you or a colleague at this year’s Top Women in Media Awards. But we can’t if you miss the deadline to enter: Wednesday, June 1st!

Check out the site to see all the amazing categories, from Directors Who Do It All to Tech Leaders.

ENTER NOW

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

“I Gotta Ask My Wife,” a comedy starring “Saturday Night Live” alum Finesse Mitchell, is in the works at Fox. Mitchell created, exec-produces and writes the series, inspired by his standup, alongside Warren Hutcherson (“The Bernie Mac Show”).

Hulu picked up the rights to “A Calculated Man,” with plans to turn the comic book into a series. AfterShock Media is set to publish the book in June. Peter Calloway, exec producer of HBO’s “The Nevers” and co-exec producer on Freeform’s “Cloak & Dagger” and FX’s “Legion,” is on board to pen the project and serve as showrunner. From writer Paul Tobin and artist Alberto Albuquerque, the comic is a math-inspired crime series that centers on an accountant, who after living three years in a witness protection program after betraying a crime family, decides to reclaim his old life.

Ahead of its July 27 season 3 premiere, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” picked up a fourth season order from Disney+. Created and exec-produced by Tim Federle (“Ferdinand”), the third season is set at California’s Camp Shallow Lake, where the Wildcats and their fellow campers gear up for an unforgettable summer.

HBO Documentary Films acquired worldwide television rights to “All That Breathes.” From director Shaunak Sen (“Cities of Sleep”), the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was selected as the Grand Jury Prize winner in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. It follows two brothers who run a bird hospital dedicated to rescuing injured black kites in New Delhi, India, a mission that poetically depicts the city’s collapsing ecology and social unrest.

The Duchess Of York Sarah Ferguson is co-helming a Paris-based production house with Mark Gill, Oscar-nominated director for “The Voorman Problem” and Cyril Cadars. Vestapol Films will develop and produce films and TV for international audiences and markets, especially the US and Japan. First projects include a miniseries expanding on “The Voorman Problem” and a biopic about iconic Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase.

Coming of age rom-com drama “Heartstopper” scored a rare two-season pickup at Netflix. From See-Saw Films, the UK series was adapted by Alice Oseman from her graphic novel… Netflix also greenlit Swedish action film “A Day and a Half,” directed, penned and starring Fares Fares (“Chernobyl,” “Westworld”), who will play a police officer tracking down a divorced couple on an emotionally charged road trip. Warner Bros. International TV Production is producing, and is joined in the writing room by Peter Smirnakos.

Cloudco Entertainment announcedits 2D animated incarnation of “Care Bears: Unlock the Magic” is in production on six new 22-minute specials for the Cartoonito preschool block on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.Simultaneously, season 1 of “Care Bears: Unlock the Magic” has been extended into early 2027 for the linear and streaming platforms.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Good news for Gleeks. Six months after “Glee” went off of Netflix, the musical series will be available on Disney+ and Hulu starting Wednesday, June 1 to coincide with the kickoff of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. “Glee,” produced by 20th Television, aired on Fox for six seasons and was a hit for the network.

Also at Hulu and Disney+, the streamers dropped key art and a trailer for the third and final season of original series “Love, Victor,” which debuts all eight eps on both services Wednesday, June 15. This go-round Victor embarks on a journey of self-discovery, deciding not only who he wants to be with, but who he wants to be.

Disney+ previewed Walt DisneyAnimation Studios’ “Baymax!,” which premieres Wednesday, June 29. The series features new adventures in the fantastical city of San Fransokyo, where the affable, inflatable healthcare companion robot Baymax—star of 2014 film “Big Hero 6”—attempts to do what he was programmed to do: help others.

Disney+ also announced “Zombies 3” will premiere globally Friday, July 15 and then bow on Disney Channel Friday, August 12 at 8p. The latest story in the franchise introduces a new group of mysterious outer space aliens to the student body of zombies, cheerleaders and werewolves at Seabrook High.

COMING UP

The AccuWeather Networkwill air one-hour special “AccuWeather Hurricane Center 2022” on Wednesday, May 25 at 7p. The program, featuring AccuWeather hurricane expert and senior meteorologist Dan Kottlowski, will detail what to expect from the 2022 hurricane season and ways viewers can keep their families prepared and safe.

TECH TALK

Hulu is having a flash sale. The streamer is offering new and select returning subscribers its basic, ad-supported tier for $1 a month for the first three months. The discount, which is tied to National Streaming Day, runs through Friday, May 27. The regular price of the service is $6.99 with ads; $12.99 for the ad-free version.

Crackle is launching an updated, free Crackle AVOD app on Fire TV. Available to Fire TV US customers on all Fire TV devices, the app update features faster load times, and new content screens and video playback. Tech updates also will have an autoplay feature aimed at increasing user engagement, as well as a personalized content recommendation tool based on customers’ previous viewing habits.

CASTING

Lupita Nyong’o has exited “Lady In The Lake,” Apple’s limited series adaptation of the same-titled Laura Lippman’s book.

ABC’s “The Company You Keep” is casting up. Sarah Wayne Callies, James Saito, Tim Chiou, Freda Foh Shen and Felisha Terrell are set as leads in the drama pilot, which also stars Milo Ventimiglia and Catherine Haena Kim…Also at ABC, Yasha Jackson (“The Flight Attendant”) scored the lead role opposite Michaela McManus in ABC’s untitled national parks drama pilot.

Alanna Ubach (“Euphoria”)rounds out the series regular cast of Seth MacFarlane’s upcoming comedy series “TED,” for Peacock… The streamer also announced Neve Campbell (“Scream 5”) will recur as a guest in its new action-comedy series “Twister Metal.”

GOING GLOBAL

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will join the cast of British TV soap “EastEnders” for cameo roles in a street party scene in an upcoming ep, to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

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RATINGS

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Thursday, May 19
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: “Station 19” 4.28 (0.6), “Grey’s Anatomy” 3.80 (0.6), “Big Sky” 2.41 (0.3)
CBS: “Young Sheldon” 7.06 (0.7), “United States of AI” 4.79 (0.5), “How We Roll Special” 3.32 (0.3), “How We Roll” 3.06 (0.3), “Bull” 3.74 (0.3)
CW: “Walker” 0.39 (0.1), “Legacies” 0.25 (0.0)
FOX: “Masterchef Junior” 1.97 (0.4), “Welcome To Flatch” 0.79 (0.2), “Welcome To Flatch” 0.62 (0.1)
NBC: “Law and Order” 3.94 (0.4), “Law and Order: SVU” 4.52 (0.6), “Law and Order: Organized Crime” 3.37 (0.5)
Telemundo: “Casa De Famosos” 0.96 (0.3), “Hasta Que Plata” 0.75 (0.2), “Pasion Galivanes” 0.81 (0.3)
Univision: “Soltero Con Hijas” 1.30 (0.4), “Mi Fortuna es Amarte” 1.57 (0.5), “Ultimo Rey” 1.15 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Two new hires at Candle Media, which named Courtney Cappa as SVP, finance & accounting, and Kendall Ostrow as SVP, business development & community. Cappa most recently served as head of finance and controller at indie film and TV studio Wiip; Ostrow previously served a seven-year stint at UTA.

Another exec departure at CNN. Meredith Artley, SVP and editor in chief of CNN Digital Worldwide, is headed for the exit at the network. A successor has not been named.

TelevisaUnivision appointed David Katz as SVP of corporate events. He joins with two decades of experience including leadership roles at including Viacom and Nickelodeon.

UK-based Electric Shadow Company hired Isabel Freer as head of development and Kwesi Dickson as head of production finance. Freer has co-produced stage and television productions including Howard Zinn’s “The People Speak.” Dickson previously worked as a producer on “Rogue” and “SAS: Red Notice,” both exec- produced by ESC.

This Day in History
1533 – Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
The cast of which paranormal thriller series included Stefanie Powers (“Hart to Hart”) and John Hillerman (“Magnum, P.I.”)? “The Sixth Sense” (1972). Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NY; Charles Lore/NY; Randall Bosley-Studio Talent Group/Santa Monica; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
On which TV series did Pete Davidson make his television debut? (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.)

Cynopsis Team