PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Next up for David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, creators of Game of Thrones, is HBO: Confederate, an alt-history drama set in a world where the south successfully seceded from the union. Benioff and Weiss will write as well as showrun. Also onboard as exec producers and writers are Nichelle Tramble Spellman (Justified) and Malcolm Spellman (Empire); Game of Thrones’ Carolyn Strauss and Bernadette Caulfield will exec produce.
HGTV ordered over 50 new episodes of Beach Hunters, Lakefront Bargain Hunt and Lakefront Bargain Hunt Renovation, slated to air in 2018. “HGTV’s fantasy lifestyle programming works so well because it attracts viewers who aspire to one day own an idyllic vacation home,” said John Feld, SVP, original programming and production for HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country. “And that’s pretty much all of us.”
A TV version of mobile word game Words with Friends is in the works, with MGM Television and Zygna collaborating on the project. “The interactive social experience of Words With Friends makes it the perfect mobile game for us to bring to primetime, following our success with Beat Shazam on Fox,” said MGM president of unscripted television Barry Poznick. “Playing Words is a daily ritual for some of the biggest names in Hollywood and we’ve created the perfect format to capture their competitiveness and creative wordplay.” It’s not just Hollywood players getting in the game – since its 2009 launch, Words With Friends has been installed over 200 million times.
Amazon landed Homecoming, a drama based on the fictional podcast, from Universal Cable Productions. The political thriller starring Julia Roberts got a two-season straight-to-series order. Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) is among the exec producers.
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer has plucked the assets of Evolution Media, producer of Real Housewives series, among others, to fold into MGM’s TV division. Founder and CEO Doug Ross will be president of the new business, while Alex Baskin, EVP of programming and developing, becomes president of programming and development. “Doug and Alex have been creating and producing hit series for decades,” said Mark Burnett, president of MGM’s Television Group & Digital. “These guys have talent and drive and will help our MGM Television ‘hit machine’ to continue to grow and grow.”
Revolt placed an order for hip hop series Drink Champs, based on the podcast, that will deliver new episodes over the next year. Season 2 launches Thursday, July 27 at 10p, with special guest star LL Cool J. “We started out as an audio only podcast that became visual on the internet and now we’ve transformed it into a successful television show that shares our podcast with an even bigger audience,” said co-host DJ EFN.
COMING UP
Yesterday, rebranded Oxygen moved to a full-time true crime slate. But is ID trying to take the air out of Oxygen’s launch? On Saturday, July 22 ID is airing a repeat of O.J. Simpson Trial: The Real Story at 5p, ahead of Oxygen’s The Jury Speaks: O.J. Simpson at 9p. Sunday brings a re-airing of Barbara Walters Presents Michael Jackson: The Man in the Mirror at 5p, before Oxygen’s The Jury Speaks: Michael Jackson at 9p. Same deal with George Zimmerman true crime shows on Monday and twin Robert Dursts on Tuesday. Let the true crime games begin….
NEW & RETURNING SHOWS
The Hunt with John Walsh will air on HLN for season 4, launching Sunday, July 30 at 8p. Season 3 was simulcast on HLN and Turner sib CNN. The show is “a perfect fit for HLN with our emphasis on mysteries and investigations in primetime,” said Ken Jautz, EVP, CNN. Episodes will stream live for subscribers on CNNgo.
AMC’s The Walking Dead returns for season 8, and its 100th episode, on October 22. The zombie drama resumed production on July 17, 5 days after the on-set death of stuntman John Bernecker.
OWN’s Greenleaf is back for its second season with a 2-night premiere on Tuesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 16 at 10p. The mega-church drama settles into its regular Wednesay-at-10p slot the following week. New docu-series Black Love, asking the question, “What does it take to make a marriage work?”, arrives Tuesday, August 29 at 10p.
Paige Davis is returning as host of TLC’s revival of Trading Spaces, for a new season launching in 2018. The design series originally ran on TLC and Discovery Home from 2000-2008.
Acorn TV acquired Australian drama series Newton’s Law, to start streaming to North American audiences in fall 2017.
Aspire picked up The Hughleys and In Living Color in an agreement with Fox Studios. The Hughleys premieres Saturday, August 5 with a marathon from 12p-1a; In Living Color binge-launches Monday, September 4 from 12p-1a.
A SoCal auto restoration shop is the setting for new Velocity series RMD Garage, launching Wednesday, August 2 at 9p. Look for a 1958 Chevy Apache Dream Catcher, a 1962 Bel Air Bubbletop, a 1957 Lincoln Continental and more.
Mark, Donnie and Paul make a deal to open 300 new restaurant locations in the new season of Wahlburgers, launching Wednesday, August 9 at 9p and 9:30p on A&E.
Stand-up comedy series Laughs launches on Fusion tonight at 7p, introducing hopeful “next big things” as they tour the country.
CASTING
Ian Anthony Dale was promoted to series regular, and Meaghan Rath (Being Human) and Beulah Koale (Thank You for Your Service) were added to the season 8 cast of CBS’s Hawaii Five-0, launching Friday September 29 at 9p. The drama lost original cast members Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park after contract negotiations fell apart last month.
Crackle drama series The Oath cast actors for three recurring roles: Sarah Dumont (Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse), Billy Malone (Santa Clarita Diet) and Aaron Abrams (Hannibal). The series, set to debut in 2018, is in production in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Mykelti Williamson is joining the season 5 cast of NBC’s Chicago P.D. in a role he created as a guest star in season 4….Steven Krueger jumps from recurring to series regular on season 5 of CW’s The Originals….Zoe McLellan (NCIS: New Orleans) landed a series regular role on the sophomore run of ABC’s Designated Survivor.
VIDEOS IN SHORT
NBC News is launching a daily news show, Stay Tuned, exclusively for Snapchat. The companies will split ad revenue from the shows, airing at 7a and 4p on weekdays and 1p on weekends. About 2 ½ minutes in length, episodes will be aimed at viewers younger than the traditional news demo. NBCUni made a $500 million strategic investment in Snap as part of the Snapchat parent’s IPO.
ADVERTISING
The trend of moving advertising dollars from digital back to TV has some teeth, according toe P&G chief brand officer Marc Pritchard, who made headlines last January by threatening to boycott digital spending unless companies made the system more transparent. “The major issues in digital is that the supply chain still has way too many touch points in it and it lacks transparency,” Pritchard told Axios, with only 40% of dollars reaching publishers after payouts to ad tech vendors, and another 25% possibly wasted on fraud and viewability problems. Pritchard said brands like Tide have performed better in market tests on TV than digital. And going really old school, radio and billboard advertising results have been increasingly positive.
That said, according to PwC’s Entertainment & Media Outlook report, online advertising will hit $116 billion by 2021, or 50% larger than the TV ad market at that point. TV advertising is projected to grow from $71 billion in 2017 to $75 billion in 2015, taking a 38.8% share of the market.
Charlie Ebersol and Mike Lanigan’s The Company is teaming with Abe Rakov, the executive director of Let America Vote, to launch a political advertising division. As senior vice president for campaigns, Rakov will develop strategic television ad campaigns for candidates. “Charlie and his team have proven themselves to be excellent storytellers working with some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports,” said Rakov. “With their experience in producing hit TV shows, documentaries and films, The Company brings creative and production resources not usually available to most campaigns.”
With negotiations coming to a close, total cable and broadcast ad revenue for the 2017-2018 Upfront season will top $19.7 billion, estimates Media Dynamics, up 5.9% versus last year. Broadcast’s haul is about $9.1 billion (up 4.1%), while cable grabbed $10.6 billion in revenue (up 7/6%).
DIGITAL DATA
20th Century Fox Television will add nearly 3000 episodes to Hulu’s coffers with an expansive deal that makes the streamer home to the full libraries of M*A*SH, NYPD Blue, How I Met Your Mother, Burn Notice, Bones and Glee and more. It’s the latest of several agreements between the companies.
How is the AMC Premiere ad-free service, soft-launched last month ($4.99 on Comcast’s Xfinity), doing? “The response has been terrific,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC and Sundance TV at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference. “I think others will follow.” More content on the service is on the way, including short-form content, interviews and bonus scenes.
