Today’s Premieres
CW: Son of a Critch at 8p; Children Ruin Everything at 9p
HBO: The Golden Boy at 9p
Hulu: Futurama
Netflix: Dew Drop Diaries

IN THE NEWS

NBCUniversal reported it has completed its upfront sales, with results “roughly in line” with last year’s. Three upcoming events – BravoCon, the Paris Olympics and the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” – brought in more revenue than expected, said the company, while Peacock ad commitments were 30% higher than last year. Revenue for sports properties excluding the Olympics were up 50% across broadcast, cable, digital and streaming.

NBCU wrapped upfront sales without former ad sales head Linda Yaccarino, who decamped for Twitter. She appears to be making a positive impact. Under Elon Musk, press inquiries for the social media platform had been answered with a poop emoji. That’s been changed to a “We will get back to you soon” response – an update Yaccarino responded to with two clap emojis.

ESPN has had talks with sports leagues including the NFL, NBA and MLB about taking a minority stake in the network, reports the New York Times. The unconfirmed report aligns with comments Disney CEO Bob Iger made in a CNBC interview about looking for strategic partners for ESPN.

At a meeting at the White House on Friday, seven AI companies — Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI — agreed to voluntary safeguards for safety and security, pledging to manage the risks of the technology. “We must be cleareyed and vigilant about the threats emerging from emerging technologies,” said President Biden. “This is a serious responsibility – we have to get it right.”

Chris Marlin, EVP of Strategy and Business Operations at CNN, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Marlin was brought to CNN by Chris Licht, former CEO of CNN Worldwide, who was let go last month after a year on the job.

Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort has hopped aboard “Biker Mice from Mars.” Nacelle will co-produce the animated series with Maximum Effort and Fubo. “Some people know that I am a motorcycle enthusiast, so it was only natural for us to jump on board ‘Biker Mice from Mars’,” said Reynolds. “Maximum Effort and Fubo look forward to putting a new spin on this cult classic with our friends at Nacelle.”

Kate Bedingfield, former White House Communications Director during the Biden administration, has joined CNN as an on-air political commentator. Bedingfield will be based in D.C.

New Donald Trump attorney John Lauro got pushback from Fox News anchor John Roberts over Lauro’s claim that Trump’s legal team wants to have cameras in the courtroom during legal proceedings “so all Americans can see what’s happening.” Not so fast, said Roberts during an interview on Friday. “You might want to have that discussion with Donald Trump because he’s the one who didn’t want cameras in the courtroom when he was indicted in New York,” Roberts noted, adding, “You also can’t have cameras in federal court. So I think the point is probably moot.”

“I did go to hell and back,” said Jamie Foxx about the unspecified medical emergency that left him hospitalized in April. In his first statement since the incident, Foxx said in an Instagram video, “I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through and I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates but to be honest with you I just didn’t want you to see me like that man….I didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through.” Nick Cannon has filled in for Foxx as emcee of Fox game show “Beat Shazam” while the star recuperates.

Share your expertise by helping select the winners of this year’s Top Women in Media awards! If you’re a professional in the media and entertainment industry and are interested in joining our judge’s panel, email Carley Ashley by July 31st. Know someone who should be in the running for an award? Nominate them by visiting our website.

STRIKE UPDATES

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued a chart disputing a SAG-AFTRA chart that outlined the status of negotiations between the studios and the guild. Responded SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland to what he described as “this latest round of AMPTP spin”: “We unequivocally stand by the accuracy of everything we have said regarding the proposals. While we have made some progress, the AMPTP stonewalled us on many issues. On the three core issues that we have been talking about, the companies have not done what they need to do to treat performers fairly and we are not going to have a deal until they do.”

Throwing shade: NBCUniversal, which had been criticized for pruning trees that offered protection to protesters outside Universal Studios, came up with a solution for the sweltering strikers – tents have been erected along Barham Blvd. But that didn’t stop LA from issuing a $250 citation to NBCU for trimming the trees without a permit.

A decision hasn’t been made yet about postponing the Emmys ceremony, currently slated for September 18, but that could change if there’s not significant progress in talks between the studios and SAG-AFTRA and the WGA very soon. “Like the rest of the industry, we hope there will be an equitable and timely resolution for all parties in the current guild negotiations,” said the TV Academy in a statement. “We continue to monitor the situation closely with our partners at Fox and will advise if and when there is an update available.” The final-round voting is slated to remain August 17-28 regardless of the ceremony’s date.

“It ain’t f—ing funny,” says “Abbott Elementary” star William Stanford Davis in a video showing residual checks for three cents and five cents that had his brother “on the floor laughing.” In a second video Davis says, “This is why we’re on strike for better wages, for better residuals [and] for a piece of the subscription and to not give in to AI.”

2023 Tempest Esports & Gaming Awards

Did you say ‘deadline extension’?

You now have until August 16 to enter a company, campaign or executive into the running for an Esports Tempest Award. Taking place October 23 at HyperX Arena in Las Vegas, the Tempest Awards spotlights those driving the competitive gaming industry – from talent to technology. Sound like someone you know?

ENTER TODAY

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Season two of FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham” kicks off Tuesday, September 12 at 10p. The docuseries follows Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’ stewardship of the Welsh football team Wrexham AFC.

New season 18 episodes of “American Dad,” centered on super patriotic CIA agent Stan Smith (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and his unconventional family, arrive on TBS starting Monday, September 4 at 10p.

Peacock’s “The Continental: From the World of John Wick” premieres Friday, September 22. The announcement was made at San Diego Comic-Con, where EP Marshall Persinger said of the three-parter, “The best way to make something great is to have a great script first, have a great visionary director, and then have a cast that is to be damned.”

The season two debut date of Prime Video’s superhero series “Invincible” was also unveiled at Comic-Con: Thursday, November 2. The animated show based on the comic comes from “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman.

Speaking of, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” spin-off starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira has an official name, “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.” The series debuts in 2024. And two other “TWD” spin-offs got season two renewals: “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” which had its season finale Sunday night, and “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” which launches Sunday, September 10.

Season four of Paramount+’s animated series“Star Trek: Lower Decks” premieres with two episodes on Thursday, September 7. That’s ahead of the early 2024 debut of the fifth and final season of “Star Trek: Discovery,” which doesn’t have an exact debut date yet but does have a new trailer, released at Comic-Con.

COMING UP

Fox News host Sean Hannity is going to town again, this time moderating a town hall with Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tomorrow, July 25 at 9p. Like Hannity’s town hall with Donald Trump last week, the event will be pre-taped.

STREAMING

Crunchyroll is bringing three “One Piece” films to the service on Thursday, July 27, including “One Piece Film: Gold” (2016), “One Piece: Stampede” (2019), and “One Piece Film Red” (2022). All three will be available to stream in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

All 32 NFL owners voted to approve the sale of the Washington Commanders from Dan Snyder to a group led by Josh Harris for a record $6.05 billion. Snyder bought the team in 1999 for $800 million. What does that mean for business? “With Josh Harris adding the Washington Commanders to his hefty portfolio, which already includes the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia 76ers and Crystal Palace Football Club, the combined teams will represent $142M in annual sponsorship revenues across 281 unique marketing partners, spanning 126 industries, reaching 21.3M social followers,” notes Bob Lynch, Founder and CEO of SponsorUnited.

Timed to the Women’s World Cup, Adobe has partnered with Team Whistle on “The Beautiful Game” video series, which will be featured across social channels for Whistle and Adobe and on NWSL player channels. In each episode, Women’s World Cup legends answer a variety of questions about their journey to greatness.

Snapchat and the USWNT have collaborated to launch an augmented reality experience for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The USWNT Team Tracker Lens, designed as an always-on companion to follow the team throughout the tournament, gives people a new type of access to the USWNT players.

Stadium Swim at Circa Resort & Casino is partnering with Tennis Channel to host tennis match watch parties in downtown Las Vegas. The collaboration will bring the action to Stadium Swim’s 143-foot diagonal screen including the Atlanta Open, Citi Open, National Bank Open, Western & Southern Open, Winston Salem Open and Tennis in the Land WTA.

GOING GLOBAL

“Big Brother” landed a two-season renewal by M-NET in Nigeria.

Cynopsis Best of the Best & Rising Stars Awards

Act fast, entries close tomorrow!

Cynopsis is celebrating industry standouts at the Best of the Best Awards – but you only have until 11:59pm TOMORROW to enter. This is a party you won’t want to miss!

ENTER NOW

RATINGS

The season premiere of HGTV competition series “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” delivered a .77 Live+3 rating among W25-54 and a .55 Live+3 rating among A25-54, up 75% and 67%, respectively, over year-ago levels.

Fox News’ town hall with Donald Trump on Tuesday delivered 2.85 million viewers and 321,000 among A25-54 in Live+SD Nielsens. That’s biggest audience for a Fox News town hall for the 2024 election, but second to CNN’s Trump town hall in May, which drew 3.3 million total viewers.

“Premios Juventad” reached 4.4 million Total Viewers 2+ who tuned in to all or part of the three-hour broadcast, simulcast on Univision and Galavision. Friday’s celebration ranked as the #1 network among A18-49 and A18-34.

TLC was the #1 cable network on Sunday, July 16 with W25-54 and 18-49 and a top 5 network in all of television on Sunday night. Sunday was also TLC’s highest rated night in two months with W 25-54. “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” scored a 1.46 W25-54 Live+3 and 1.09 P25-54 while “Match Me Abroad” brought in a 1.07 W25-54 Live+3 and .74 P25-54.

Friday night’s USA vs. Vietnam match averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1 million viewers across Telemundo, Peacock, Universo and Telemundo streaming platforms, making it the most watched Women’s World Cup Group Stage match in Spanish-language history and third largest ever regardless of stage only behind the 2019 and 2015 Finals.

On Fox, the World Cup opener delivered 5.261 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched Women’s World Cup Group Stage ever on English-language television – up 99% from the equivalent 2019 telecast.

IN MEMORIAM

TV news producer Bill Geddie died July 20 of coronary-related factors. He was 68. A longtime-collaborator with Barbara Walters, Geddie created “The View” with the journalist, serving as executive producer for 17 years.

This Day in History
1959 – In what became known as the “Kitchen Debate,” Vice President Richard Nixon argued with Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the name of the court segment on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” (1999-2002), starring Amanda Bynes? Judge Trudy. Kudos to: Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; John Carlo-UP Entertainment/NYC; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Stephanie Nolan-A3/NYC; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
From which series was “Daria” (1997-2002) a spin-off? (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