PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Veep and Silicon Valley will be back on HBO in 2018 for their seventh and fifth seasons, respectively. The net renewed both series ahead of their current season finales on June 25.
Aaron Korsh, creator/exec producer of Suits, signed a two-year overall deal with Suits studio Universal Cable Productions. He’ll continue as showrunner on Suits, which returns for season 7 in July, oversee the planned Suits spinoff and develop new projects.
History gave a 10-ep straight-to-series order to original scripted drama Blue Book, from A+E Studios, in association with Compari Entertainment. Series chronicles the true top secret United States Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and ‘60s known as “Project Blue Book.” It’s exec-produced by Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future).
Comedy Central is celebrating the era of fake news with a special starring and produced by Ed Helms. The Fake News with Ted Nelms will feature absurd, made-up news that closely resembles real news, delivered by a made-up guy who closely resembles Helms.
A consortium of media and finance companies and execs are teaming with New York State Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-39), who chairs the Commission on Science and Technology, to develop Queens MediaWorks, a new hub for non-fiction production, based in Queens, NY. Brent Montgomery, CEO of ITV America; Bruce David Klein, president & executive producer of Atlas Media; Richard Seet, former principal of private equity, management and financial services corporation The Carlyle Group; and soccer phenom/entrepreneur David Villa are founding partners.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Fear(less) With Tim Ferriss premieres Tuesday, May 30 on AT&T Audience Network. The show, exec-produced by Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Productions, features Ferris in conversation with guests including the founder of TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, and ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen.
Up will premiere new series Date My Dad on Friday, June 2 at 9p, and a new season of Bringing Up Bates on Thursday, June 1 at 9p.
New aquatic thrills await in the new season of Travel Channel’s Xtreme Waterparks, premiering Sunday, June 4 at 9p.
BBC America series Broadchurch returns for its third and final season on June 28 at 10p.
CNBC will debut a new season of Jay Leno’s Garage on Wednesday, June 28, with back-to-back episodes at 9p and 10p. Guests this season include President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, Ted Koppel, Wanda Sykes and Michael Strahan.
Bravo Media premieres season 3 of Odd Mom Out on Wednesday, July 12 at 10p. Guests this season include Christine Taylor, Wendy Williams and Dave Navarro.
INSP has set the premiere date for docuseries The Cowboy Way: Alabama for Thursday, August 10 at 8p. Nine-ep series follows the lives of three modern-day cowboys.
COMING UP
Hallmark Channel ’s new movie All for Love will world-premiere this Saturday (May 27) at 9/p.
ASPiRE is launching a series of one-hour concert specials, No Cover, premiering Tuesday, June 20 at 8p with the New Orleans band Tank and The Bangas.
KIDS NEWS
Seven telecasts into Andi Mack’s first season, Disney Channel ordered a second season of the comedy series, which ranks as the top TV series of 2017 to-date among Girls 6-11, Girls 9-14 and Girls 6-14, according to the network. Series is from Horizon Productions.
Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts will guest in an episode of Disney Junior‘s Doc McStuffins premiering on National Cancer Survivors Day, Sunday, June 4, at 8a.
Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars returns to Disney XD for an action-packed hour to kick off season 4 on Saturday, June 17 at 11:30a. Beginning June 2, six original animated shorts featuring the newest Avengers will usher in the new season across linear, on-demand and digital platforms.
AWARDS SHOW WATCH
Nicki Minaj will perform at first-ever NBA Awards, airing on TNT on Monday, June 26 at 9p and hosted by Drake.
CASTING
Out: Chicago P.D. is losing its female lead. Sophia Bush is leaving the NBC series after four seasons… T.J. Miller, who portrays quasi-entrepreneur dude Erlich Bachman on HBO‘s Silicon Valley, is out for the series’ just-announced fifth season, HBO said in a statement.
In: Brandon Scott (Guerrilla) and Holland Roden (Teen Wolf) are in as series leads for the third installment of Syfy anthology series Channel Zero.
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS
Hulu gains streaming rights to Starz’s top-rated series Power via a new deal with Lionsgate. Seasons 1 and 2 are now available to stream on Hulu, and season 3 will become available to stream later this year.
The season 7 trailer for HBO’s Game of Thrones was been viewed 61 million times across digital platforms in its first 24 hours, according to the network.
Time Inc. ’s Coastal Living brand and RFC Media will launch season 3 of online-housed Coastal Living Radio today at www.coastalliving.com or on any digital device via the TuneIn mobile app.
ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIPS
Nat Geo Wild and digital camera manufacturer RED Digital Cinema are teaming on Nat Geo Wild’s RED Challenge. Ten filmmakers are heading out on a 15-week mission to produce, shoot and deliver innovative short films showcasing their modern take on the wildlife genre using a RED camera. Winner will be announced at the 2017 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in September.
History and Ancestry are collaborating on content to complement History series America: Promised Land. The multi-platform deal leverages Ancestry’s scientific and genealogical research across linear, digital and social platforms to engage viewers and is highlighted on-air by an integration featuring Ancestry’s chief scientific officer, Dr. Catherine Ball as a contributing expert to the series, which premieres May 29.
More brands are pulling out of Sean Hannity’s Fox News Channel primetime show, yanking their ads as the host continues to push a conspiracy theory surrounding the death of a member of the DNC staff. Among the latest to run for the door: Cars.com, exercise products company Peloton, mattress company Leesa Sleep, Casper Beds and Crowne Plaza Hotels.
