PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Whitney Cummings is leaving her post as EP/co-showrunner of ABC’s Roseanne reboot, handing over the reins to fellow EP-co-showrunner Bruce Helford. “Working on Roseanne was a surreal, incredible experience,” tweeted Cummings. “Due to work commitments and my tour schedule, I’m gonna have to watch the Connors from the sidelines next season. It was an honor to work with such an incredible group of actors, writers and crew.”
Animated ThunderCats Roar, a sci-fi action comedy from Warner Bros. Animation, is in production and headed for Cartoon Network in 2019.
Production is underway in Appalachia for West Virginia Wilder, a comedic follow-up doc to 2013 MTV hit Buckwild, cancelled during production of its second season following the death of series star Shain Gandee. EP’s JP Williams, Jennifer Novak-Riker and John Stevens are shopping the new series.
Boat Rocker Media has acquired a majority stake in Insight Productions (The Launch), a television production company headquartered in Toronto. The investment enables Insight to increase and diversify its content offerings and move more aggressively into digital content, while expanding Boat Rocker’s footprint.
British actor Ray Winstone will star in factual TV series Ray Winstone’s World: Sicily. The travelogue is currently in production and is being financed by Banijay Rights.
FremantleMedia North America struck a first-look deal with Bob Cooper’s Landscape Entertainment. Under the pact, Landscape Entertainment will develop and produce scripted projects for the U.S. and international markets. Frist up: a scripted drama centered on Michelangelo.
True crime anthology series The Act landed a series order from Hulu. First season follows a girl’s deadly escape from her overprotective mother.
Top 10 Weekend Domestic Box Office Estimates: May 18-20, 2018
Deadpool 2 (Fox) $125.0 million, opening weekend
Avengers: Infinity War (Buena Vista) $28.7 million (week 4), cume revenue $595.0 million
Book Club (Par.) $12.5 million, opening weekend
Life of the Party (WB) $7.7 million (week 2), cume revenue $31.0 million
Breaking In (Uni.) $6.5 million (week 2), cume revenue $28.8 million
Show Dogs (Global Road) $6.0 million, opening weekend
Overboard (PNT) $4.7 million (week 3), cume revenue $37.0 million
A Quiet Place (Par.) $4.0 million (week 7), cume revenue $176.2 million
Rampage (Warner Bros.) $1.5 million (week 6), cume revenue $92.4 million
RPG (Magn.) $1.3 million (week 3), cume revenue $3.9 million
Source: comScore
COMING UP
A&E Investigates explores the topic of Russian spies infiltrating America in two specials airing Monday, June 4. The Plot Against America at 8p follows an FBI agent tracking down enemy “sleepers,” followed by The Spy Who Raised Me, centered on the U.S.-born daughter of a Russian spy, at 10p.
Onboard to perform on the season 22 finale of NBC’s The Voice are Jason Aldean, James Bay, Florence + the Machine, Halsey featuring Big Sean, Dua Lipa and season 13 winner Chloe Kohanski. Two-hour closer airs Tuesday, May 22 at 9p.
CASTING
Among the voice cast of Dreamworks Animation Television and Netflx’s She-Ra and the Princess of Power, slated to debut later this year: Aimee Carrero (Elena of Avalor); Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad); AJ Michalka (The Goldbergs), Marcus Scribner (black-ish); Lorraine Toussaint (Orange is the New Black); Keston John (The Good Place); Lauren Ash (Superstore); Vella Lovell (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend); and Sandra Oh (Killing Eve).
DIGITAL DATA
Facebook is partnering with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab to spot potential security gaps that could allow for election meddling. The lab will be on the lookout for lapses that could invite abuse.
Job cuts at Sony Crackle are part of a restructuring of the video streaming service Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired in 2006. About a dozen layoffs “were made to streamline operations and increase efficiency.”
Newly launched Quiddity, a video-based review and lifestyle site from agency Figiulo&Partners, features comprehensive buyers’ guides; researched product pages; and aspirational articles and video series for an audience of urban millennials. “Our overall mission is to help brands and consumers understand each other better,” said Mark Figliulo, founder of Quiddity and founder and CEO at Figliulo&Partners. “Our agency, F&P, helps brands find the right consumers, and Quiddity is really the reverse of that. We help consumers find the brands that are perfect for them. We’ve now created a platform that is the answer to the question: what would an agency for the consumer look like?”
Aggregation platform VRV is adding a new slate of programming, including classic Warner Bros. Animation series Freakazoid!, Road Rovers, Dragon’s Lair and Dust, a sci-fi anthology series from Gunpowder & Sky.
In celebration of Bellator 200, the rising MMA franchise launched original web series Unbreakable with Jay Glazer. Premiere episode features Bellator 200 Main Event participant Roy “Big Country” Nelson as he prepares to meet Mirko Cro Cop as the alternate bout for the Heavyweight World Grand Prix on May 25.
GOING GLOBAL
Canada’s Voices TV, an initiative of the Ethnic Channels Group, will simultaneously broadcast multicultural programming in multiple languages. The focus will be on regional, national and international news, information, current affairs and entertainment programming. Programming will be offered in 10 languages using multiple feeds the first year, with more feeds added in coming years.
