PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Alex Pina, creator, producer and writer of Netflix’s top non-English speaking series La Casa de Papel, inked a global overall deal with the streamer to produce series and new projects exclusively for the streamer.
Netflix ordered Kids & Family original series The Letter For The King. Based on Tonke Dragt’s medieval adventure novel, it’s the streaming giant’s first Dutch book adaption.
FX ordered a second season of dance musical Pose, set to debut in 2019. “Ryan Murphy has once again revolutionized television with Pose, an incredibly engaging story of creativity, courage, compassion, love and family at a pivotal time in our culture,” said John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions. “As television critics have universally acknowledged, there is simply nothing like Pose on TV.”
Pose and Vikings EP Sherry Marsh joined forces with Federation Entertainment to develop a drama based on Cristina Alger’s forthcoming novel The Banker’s Wife. The thriller, set in the world of global finance, centers on two women racing for answers when a mysterious plane crash sets them off on the pursuit of the truth.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
August marks the month of an array of Food Network premieres. Ultimate Summer Cook-Off bows Sunday, August 5 at 8p; Kids Baking Championship returns Monday, August 6 at 9p, followed by new series Reality Cupcakes at 10p and 10:30p; Worst Cooks in America debuts Sunday August 12 at 9p; and Big Food Truck Tip premieres Wednesday, August 29 at 10p. In daytime, Let’s Eat bows Sunday, August 12 at 11a.
Cooking Channel serves up a new season of Cheap Eats on Wednesday, August 8 at 10p, and gives viewers the inside scoop on the top bakeries in the country as they create Crazy Cakes, starting Friday, August 24 at 10p.
SOS: How to Survive returns to The Weather Channel on Sunday, July 15 at 8p. Series presents stories of people who suddenly find themselves in a life-and-death battle with the elements.
TLC’s Unexpected is back for a second season on Sunday, August 5 at 10p. Series follows the journeys of five teenage couples and their families as they navigate the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood.
Bossip on We tv premieres Thursday, August 2 at 10p. Each episode takes viewers inside the hot gossip website for the top celebrity news and scandals.
COMING UP
GetTV pays tribute to the late Tab Hunter with an airing of 1958’s Gunman’s Walk on Saturday, July 14 at 8p. Flick kicks off a “24 Hours of Westerns” programming block, which includes episodes of series Laredo, Hondo and A Man Called Shenandoah.
Telemundo Desportes’ exclusive Spanish-language presentation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia continues with pre-game coverage on Saturday, July 14. Hoy en la Copa Mundial de la FIFA airs at 10a, followed by the kickoff of the World Cup third place match, England vs. Belgium, at 10:30a. On Sunday, July 15, pre-game coverage begins at 10a, followed by the Final, Croatia vs. France at 10:30a.
DIGITAL DATA
TYT Network added three new shows to its YouTube TV channel programming slate. Political analyst Michael Shure will host Reasonably Shure, a weekly interview program featuring artists, scientists, business leaders and politicians of different backgrounds and political leanings; The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur will cover the grassroots political movement and candidates running to unseat establishment Democrats in Rebel HQ; and Jimmy Dore hosts The Jimmy Dore Show.
Google is pushing automation and wants search marketers to commit to it. The company recently introduced a responsive search ad optimization tool. “We have seen the growth of machine learning and artificial intelligence give way to a tremendous amount of automation that can be used as building blocks,” said Jessie Dearien, Vice President, head of paid search at iProspect. Over the past couple of months, IProspect has been testing Google Responsive Search Ads with several advertisers. The tool allows the ability to make granular decisions with the power of machines.
Kantar Media study Dimensions, conducted between November 30 and December 12, 2017 among 1000 Americans and 5000 in Brazil, China, France and the U.K. revealed that heavy internet users are more likely to use software that blocks ads. However, they are also significantly more likely (at 18%) than the average person (at 0.9%) to say advertising is important to their purchasing behavior. Poor creative and lack of relevance to the consumer are the top reasons people still block ads. Other reasons include brands that continue serving the same ad even after the consumer buys the product. Another issue among 72% of consumers was seeing the same ad repeatedly.
Omni Group unveiled a new people-based precision marketing and insight platform dubbed “Omni.” It’s a new effort by a holding company to drive personalized consumer experience at scale and follows the recent acquisition of Acxiom by Interpublic, which was also aimed at boosting precision marketing capabilities. The Omnicom platform is designed to target individuals across creative, media, CRM and other practice areas.
Sony Pictures Television Games announced the release of new mobile game Hotel Transylvania: Monsters! It’s based on Sony Pictures Animation’s popular “Hotel Transylvania” franchise and is the first puzzle role playing, free-to-play mobile game in the franchise.
GOING GLOBAL
Sky ordered tween drama The Athena, following the journey of a young model whose career implodes when she complains about a famous designer treating her like an object.
The Kennedys (wt), a two-part documentary about the rise of America’s first family, is set at Viacom’s UK network Channel 5. Show hails from the British commercial broadcaster’s own production division Elephant House Studios.
Turner Latin America picked up the pay TV rights for Mexican crime drama Falco. Series is based on Red Arrow Studio International’s scripted format The Last Cop.
Icon Films commissioned Sky Arts to produce a documentary exploring the life of Judy Garland.
Quintus Media licensed several documentaries to Germany. ProSieben Sat. 1 acquired the first two seasons of 15 Billion Pound Railway to air on K1 Doku, while WeltN24 picked up Season 5 of Mighty Planes. ProSieben Sat. 1 also picked up Wedding Surprises: Caught on Camera from UK based Silverlining Rights Limited.
Armoza Formats’ docu-reality Marry Me Now was commissioned for a first season in all 46 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. To air on one of M-Net’s flagship channels, 1 Magic, beginning in November.
