Thursday July 22, 2021

Today’s Finales
HGTV: Hot Mess House at 8p
LMN: Keeping Up With the Joneses at 8p
NBC: Good Girls at 10p

IN THE NEWS

NBCUniversal and Sky introduced a new global consultancy and research arm centered around culture. Co-Lab with NBCUniversal + Sky taps into insights across NBCUniversal and Sky, to develop plans that brands can execute across One Platform and beyond. “With Co-Lab, we’re creating another entry point for marketers to access NBCUniversal and Sky’s vast platform of capabilities, with an eye toward developing bespoke strategies for global brands seeking local resonance with audiences around the world,” said KC Sullivan, President and Managing Director, Global Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal.

Comedy Central and Lenard “Charlamagne Tha God” McKelvey are teaming with “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert to create and produce “Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey.” The weekly half hour late-night series takes on social issues via sketches and social experiments that are “redemptively comedic, refreshingly unfiltered, and unapologetically Black.” Filmed in NYC, the series is set to debut Friday, September 17 at 10p.

Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Berry Gordy and Justin Diaz will be honored at the 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors, taking place December 5 and broadcast in a primetime special on CBS at a time tbd.

The Creative Arts Emmys will take place in front of a limited live audience this year, but there will be no Governors Ball events due to COVID-19 concerns. The ceremony will be hosted at LA’s Microsoft Theater September 11 and 12, and edited into a single show to air Saturday, September 18 at 8p on FXX.

The Inevitable Foundation, which works to identify promising disabled screenwriters and fast-track them for consideration by showrunners, creative executives, has launched an initiative to help close the diversity gap in film and television. Over 25 creative and development executives and more than a dozen showrunners have committed to working with the foundation’s Screenwriting Fellows and other finalists to mentor them and prepare them to sell their work.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s Screen Media has inked a multi-year deal with Millennium Media to release at least five films a year for the next three years from the production house. The first film will be “The Enforcer,” which is shooting this summer in Greece. Screen Media will handle the North American release in 2022.

Calling all content creators: Have you created the Best Branded Web Series, Best YouTube Channel, Best Companion Video for TV Show, Best Documentary, Best Short Form Comedic Video, Best Short Form Culinary Video, Best LGBTQIA Programming, Best Podcast/Audio Series? We want to see your work. Submit now for these categories and more for Cynopsis’ 9th Annual Model D + It List awards. Submissions are due August 3rd. Start your entry now!

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Amazon Studios has ordered a series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel Anansi Boys. Gaiman, Sir Lenny Henry, Douglas Mackinnon, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Hilary Bevan Jones (Endor Productions) and Richard Fee (Red Production Company) are executive producers. Gaiman and Henry will also write for the series along with Arvind Ethan David, Kara Smith, and Racheal Ofori. Gaiman and Mackinnon will serve as co-showrunners. The six episode limited series begins shooting in Scotland later this year.

Fox is developing a reality competition based on the Hasbro board game Mouse Trap with eOne (“LEGO Masters”). eOne’s Tara Long, Matt Walton, Matt Prichard, Mark Herwick are exec producing.

Ample Entertainment struck a first look deal with Israeli filmmakers Yotam Guendelman, Mika Timor and Ari Pines (“Shadow of Truth”). Ample will collaborate with the creators to develop and produce a slate of stranger-than-fiction films and series in the unscripted space.

Exile Content Studio is moving forward with “The Bourbons: A Royal Family,” a docuseries about Spain’s Reigning Royal House. Exile is co-producing the 6-parter with Ana Pastor’s Newtral and Atresmedia, in collaboration with Alea Media.

Casting notes: America Ferrera (“Superstore”) has boarded the cast of AppleTV+ limited series “WeCrashed,” about the rise and fall of WeWork…Dee Bradley Baker will reprise the role of Olmec in CW’s reboot of “Legends of the Hidden Temple.” The show originally aired on Nick from 1993-95…Lana Condor (“To All the Boys”) will star in and executive produce “Take Out,” a comedy in development at Hulu…Peacock limited series “Joe Exotic” (wt) has added Marlo Kelly (“Dare Me”) to the cast opposite Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell…Leslie Grace (“In the Heights”) flew away with the lead in HBO Max film “Batgirl.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Three-part documentary “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” debuts Tuesday, August 3 at 9p on HBO. The show chronicles the personal and political journey of President Barack Obama, through conversations with colleagues, friends and critics.

ABC’s “Superstar,” an expansion of newsmagazine “20/20,” will profile celebrities “who shaped American culture” starting Wednesday, August 11 at 10p. First subject: Whitney Houston.

Mother or mate? TLC’s “I Love a Mama’s Boy” is back for season two on Sunday, August 29 at 10p.

You’re invited to Cynopsis and Discovery’s virtual Diversity and Inclusion event on Monday, September 13 from 1-3:30 PM ET. As more consumers embrace brands reflect diversity and share their values, essential to connect with them in authentic and meaningful ways. In this event you will learn how to deliver messaging that makes a difference through authentic programming and storytelling. Register for free now!

COMING UP

Stand up special “Lil Duval: Living My Best Life,” featuring appearances from Bresha Webb (“Marlon”) and comedians Gary “G Thang” Johnson and Navaris “Navv” Greene, premieres Thursday, August 5 on ALLBLK.

Fox Nation special “Released: A Bill Cosby Investigation by Nancy Grace” starts streaming Friday, July 23. The special features first-hand accounts from Cosby accusers in addition to former Pennsylvania District Attorney Bruce Castor, who will discuss the secret “non-prosecution” agreement.

Lifetime’s “Switched Before Birth,” starring Justina Machado (“One Day at a Time”) and Skyler Samuels (“Scream Queens”), delves into the unregulated fertility industry. Inspired by IVF stories of actual couples, the film follows two strangers whose paths become intertwined following their IVF procedures. Elisabeth Rohm directs the film, debuting this fall.

For the first time, all four motos of a round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will be shown live on one network, as MAVTV, in conjunction wioth NBC Sports, provides four hours of live broadcast of the MotoSport.com Washougal National on Saturday, July 24. Coverage begins at 4p.

THEMA América announced that Canal 22 International will be airing a variety of premieres to connect Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and the Spanish-speaking community in the US with their roots and traditions. Among the offerings: “Gramática de la Creación” (The Grammatical Creation), with journalist and lexicographer Laura García showing the multiple influences that stimulate creative work, Tuesdays at 5p starting in August.

TECH TALK

Welcome to the Clubhouse: Live audio app Clubhouse, which launched with an invite-only system, is “now out of beta, open to everyone, and ready to begin its next chapter,” said co-founders Rohan Seth and Paul Davison in a blog post. “This means we have removed our waitlist system so that anyone can join. If you have a club, you can post your link far and wide. If you are a creator with an audience, you can bring them all on. If you’re hosting a public event, anyone can attend.”

Globo and AI-driven sports video technology company WSC Sports announced a partnership to bring automated real-time video highlights and sports content to soccer fans in Brazil across Globo’s digital properties, streaming and social media. Globo will be using WSC Sports’ suite of technology tools to share content and engage with fans, while maximizing content production capabilities and advertising opportunities within their streaming platform, Globoplay, ge.globo and Youtube channel.

OOH specialist Talon America announced the launch of its proprietary data management platform, Ada, for the US market. Ada generates intelligence on real and recent audience behaviors, including how people travel, the OOH inventory they engage with, and the actions they take afterwards. “With Ada, we’re democratizing access to data-driven insights for OOH audience targeting and measurement,” said Jonathan Conway, COO at Talon America. “Ada empowers advertisers to seamlessly extend their online targeting strategy into OOH, enabling them to always reach the most relevant audiences and more accurately analyze their behaviors after exposure to brand messages.”

Place Exchange, the supply-side platform for programmatic OOH and place-based media, announced the close of a $20 million Series A funding round. The investment was co-led by Revolution Ventures and Tribe Capital. The company will use the funding to broaden its product offerings, expand into new markets, and grow its team.

The Video Advertising Bureau has asked measurement watchdog MRC to suspend its accreditation of Nielsen’s national ratings service. At issue is the integrity of Nielsen’s in-home panel. A letter from VAB President and CEO Sean Cunningham was accompanied by a document detailing alleged shortcomings that surfaced when collecting data was complicated by the pandemic.

STREAMING

Viewers are streaming more, but they’re also getting more frustrated with streaming, according to a new Penthera survey. Video viewers are watching an average 2 hours and 29 minutes, up 6% from last year, according to the survey, but 68% of respondents reported having a frustrating experience weekly, up from 55% last year. And they’re getting less patient with disruptions – 57% said they’d give up and try again later, versus 39% in 2020.

Viewers are streaming more, but they’re also getting more frustrated with streaming, according to a new Penthera survey. Video viewers are watching an average 2 hours and 29 minutes, up 6% from last year, according to the survey, but 68% of respondents reported having a frustrating experience weekly, up from 55% last year. And they’re getting less patient with disruptions – 57% said they’d give up and try again later, versus 39% in 2020.

Future Today announced the launch of streaming channels CoComelon and iFood.tv for VIZIO’s SmartCast TVs. Future Today has launched 13 AVOD streaming apps and four FAST channels on Vizio SmartCast TV’s, including flagship Happykids, FilmRise and Fawesome.

GOING GLOBAL

Amagi, focused on SaaS for broadcast and streaming TV on the cloud, announced that the French alternative lifestyle channel, OFIVE TV, has partnered with it for the distribution of their channel to international FAST platforms.

WDR and Tresor TV have recently wrapped production on a 4-episode prime time adaptation of “Generation Gap” for Germany. Under license from MGM Television’s Global Formats division, the comedic variety series, “Das ist meine Zeit”, examines the divide between older and younger generations as they compete in challenges.

Screentime New Zealand will produce a local version of “LEGO Masters” for TVNZ. The competition reality hit has now been picked up by 14 broadcasters globally.

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EXECUTIVE MOVES

P-MRC Data announced Rob Jonas as its incoming CEO. Jonas will lead the joint venture formed in October 2020 between Penske Media Corporation and MRC. Jonas most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer at enterprise data company Foursquare.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the first show to win an Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition and Outstanding Host in the same year? “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Kudos to: Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Cristin DeVries-CBS Network/NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
Which Academy Award-winning actor played the stepson of Mary Tyler Moore’s character in a TV series? 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.)