A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM GREAT AMERICAN MEDIA

ON AUGUST 20, GAC FAMILY BECOMES GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY;
GAC LIVING RENAMED GREAT AMERICAN LIVING

Networks will be part of the new Great American Media brand portfolio along with Great American Adventures FAST channel and upcoming Great American Community streaming app.

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IN THE NEWS

HBO Max laid off 14% of staffers overseen by HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys. Approximately 70 employees were let go as the company scales back, part of Warner Bros. Discovery leadership’s pledge to find at least $3 billion in savings post-merger.

“John Wick” prequel series “The Continental” has relocated from Starz to Peacock. The move comes more than four years after the three-part project was first unveiled. Since then, Starz has repositioned its brand to focus on female-skewing series; “The Continental” will launch on Peacock in 2023.

Nexstar acquired a 75% stake in the CW Network from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, more than six months after beginning negotiations. Paramount and WBD will each retain 12.5% ownership in the CW and continue to produce content for the broadcaster upon close of the sale.

2022 Esports Business Summit

Congress of Team CEOs Returns

EBS is thrilled to be welcoming an elite line-up of CEOs for this year’s, “Congress of Team CEOs.” The panel will consist of Lee Trink, CEO/Co-Owner of FaZe Clan; Arnold Hur, COO of Gen.G; Joe Marsh, CEO of T1 Entertainment and Sports; Jason Lake, Founder & CEO of Complexity Gaming; Adam Rymer, CEO of OpTic Gaming; and Roberta Coelho, CEO of MIBR. Join these CEOs and many other executives in their cutting-edge conversations at EBS in November.

REGISTER FOR EBS

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

The Boulet Brothers signed a multi-production deal with Shudder. The partnership will expand the “Dragula” franchise with a new season, a spinoff series and an additional special to air in the next year. The new pact comes on the heels of the fourth season of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” which became one of Shudder’s most-watched series of 2021.

Beyond Rights secured a series of deals for spring and summer slate titles. Nine series — in genres such as reality TV, crime, history, food and travel — were signed into development by the production company.

Applause Entertainment will develop a sketch comedy show billed as “SNL” meets “The Kumars.” A pilot has been shot ahead of a planned weekly series that follows an upwardly mobile, dysfunctional family watching a sketch comedy show that addresses current topics.

Tubi greenlit adult animated comedy “Breaking Bear.” The new series will parody the tropes of mobster dramas, combining elements of “Yogi Bear” with “The Sopranos.”

VH1 greenlit new seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked.” The competition series will return for its 15th season, featuring its 200th episode. “When I hear season 15 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ I have to pinch myself – I just won’t tell you where,” said host and Executive Producer RuPaul.

Carmelo Anthony will get his own docuseries from Westbrook Studios, Falkon and Creative 7. Named after Anthony’s signature jersey, “Seven” will chronicle the life and career of the 10-time NBA All-Star and entrepreneur.

A US Men’s Soccer Team World Cup docuseries is in the works. Park Stories and H.wood Media have teamed up with the US Soccer Federation and Soccer United Marketing on the untitled all-access docuseries that is expected to launch on a streamer around the Qatar World Cup in November.

“The Many Daughters of Afong Moy” will be adapted into a series. Jenna Bush Hager and her UCP-based banner will develop the on-screen adaptation of Jamie Ford’s novel, published earlier this month, and will executive produce with Ben Spector.

Charlie Hall booked a trio of TV and film projects with HBO Max and Disney+. The youngest son of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall is currently working on the Jordan Weiss’ NewLine/HBO Max feature “Sweethearts” opposite Kieran Shipka and Nico Hiraga. Hall will also season arc on “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and will have a recurring role in Disney+’s “Big Shot.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Charlie Hunnam’s Apple series “Shantaram” will premiere on October 14. Following the release of the show’s first three episodes on the premiere date, new episodes will drop weekly every Friday through December 16 on Apple TV+.

“Los Ricos También Lloran” (“The Rich Also Cry”) will return on September 6 on Univision. Starring Claudia Martín and Sebastián Rulli, the premiere of the new telenovela will be broadcast as a two-hour special at 9p.

Season 2 of PBS’ “The Great American Recipe” will premiere next summer. Production on the sophomore season of the cooking competition series that celebrates multiculturalism is scheduled to begin this fall. Host Alejandra Ramos and judges Leah Cohen, Tiffany Derry and Graham Elliot are set to return.

COMING UP

“TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons” will premiere on August 22 at 8p on Fox. The special will cover the many theories related to fitness icon Simmons, who has been out of sight for more than eight years.

BLACKPINK, Jack Harlow, Lizzo and Måneskin will perform at the 2022 VMAs. The award show will air live from the Prudential Center on August 28 at 8p.

Alan Cumming’s stand-up special premieres September 2 at 10p on Showtime. “Club Cumming Presents a Queer Comedy Extravaganza” is a 75-minute cabaret-style gathering featuring seven up-and-coming queer comedians.

“Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” will premiere on October 25 on Netflix. The four-day, double-episode event will offer genre-defining stories that challenge traditional notions of horror.

SPORTS

Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, announced that the CFP’s Management Committee has selected the sites for the 2025 and 2026 national championship games, with the 2026 title game taking place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The location of the 2025 national championship game will be revealed soon. Meanwhile, 2023’s game will be played in LA, with 2024 bound for Houston.

Carrie Underwood will once again star in the show open for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” this year, marking the 10th consecutive season and delivering an updated rendition of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” from The Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas. For the first time, the show will “highlight the game-day energy around each ‘Sunday Night Football’ game as a dedicated film crew will capture the atmosphere leading up to kickoff including fans tailgating and prepping for the game, player arrivals, and scenes from the host city.”

Bananaland, a five-part ESPN+ Original series taking fans behind the scenes of baseball’s innovative franchise, will premiere August 19, on ESPN+ and ESPN2. Episode 1 debuts on ESPN+ Friday morning and will air on ESPN2 at 9p. The remaining four episodes will premiere exclusively on ESPN+ on Fridays through September 16. The linear debut of Episode 1 on ESPN2 follows a live Savannah Bananas game played by Banana Ball Rules at7p.

The USTA and Cadillac agreed on a multi-year sponsorship for Cadillac to serve as the new official vehicle of the US Open. Beginning at 2022 US Open, Cadillac will have a significant on-site presence at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that will include the ‘Cadillac Showroom,’ a 3,000-square-foot experiential space that will house the Cadillac ELECTRIQ Theater. Cadillac’s white crest will also be featured on the nets of all competition courts during the tournament, including all stadium courts.

Meanwhile, the PGA TOUR and Qualtrics announced a new multi-year relationship that designates Qualtrics as the Official Experience Insights Provider of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. The TOUR will now leverage Qualtrics’ experience management platform to analyze fan, player and partner feedback across multiple channels and act on real-time insights to ensure a consistent and world-class tournament experience throughout each phase of the tournament journey, including ticketing, concessions and special events.

TECH TALK

Trioscope announced the launch of Trioscope Platform to license proprietary technology to third-party content creators. The Platform offers a suite of production tools and software that marries human performance with computer-generated environments. It will provide filmmakers with the opportunity to forge final pictures that boast an array of looks, including graphic novel, painterly imagery and more.

CASTING

Sadie Laflamme-Snow has joined Hallmark’s “The Way Home.” Laflamme-Snow will play Chyler Leigh’s 15-year-old daughter, Alice Landry. The original primetime series is set to premiere in 2023 on the Hallmark Channel.

Ron Perlman, Nick Nolte, Charles Melton and Tim Blake Nelson have boarded Peacock’s “Poker Face.” The series received a 10-episode order in March 2021.

2022 Model D + It List Awards

Check out this year’s categories

Cynopsis Media is proud to put together a fantastic awards ceremony honoring a pool of innovative executives in digital media, along with leaders of online video content and advertising. With more categories than ever before, including, “Outstanding Progress in Measuring Diverse Audiences” and “Best New Tool for Capturing First-Party Data,” we look to expand and recognize untapped groups like never before. With rates due to increase by $100 on 8/26, why wait?

ENTER NOW

RATINGS

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, August 12
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Shark Tank 2.44 (0.3), 20/20 2.44 (0.3)
CBS: Secret Celebrity Renovation 1.83 (0.2), Blue Bloods 9p 2.13 (0.2), Blue Bloods 2.28 (0.2)
CW: Killer Camp 0.19 (0.0), Dynasty 0.23 (0.0)
FOX: WWE Friday Night Smackdown 1.93 (0.4)
NBC: American Ninja Warrior 1.55 (0.3), Dateline 1.90 (0.2)
Telemundo: Top Chef VIP 0.83 (0.2), Amor Valiente 0.83 (0.2), Infiel: Historia de un Engaño 1.02 (0.3)
Univision: La Rosa de Guadalupe 0.96 (0.3), La Mexicana y el Güero 0.99 (0.4), La Herencia: un Llegado de Amor 1.16 (0.4), Mujer de Nadie 1.06 (0.4)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Shona Fraser stepped up to lead at Banijay Germany. The company announced a new leadership structure at Good Times on Monday and Fraser was appointed as managing director in partnership with Chief Operating Officer Knut Kremling.

White Label Productions named Stephanie Wagner as senior vice president and head of production. Netflix and All3Media alum Katie Judkins also joined the company as director of production.

Adrianne Anderson was promoted to SVP, content development at ABC. The LA marketing executive will be responsible for creating, leading and executing the multiplatform content vision and strategies across all eight local brands and businesses.

IN MEMORIAM

Jessica Klein, writer and producer on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died at 66 of pancreatic cancer after being diagnosed last November. Her daughter Shira Rose confirmed in a Facebook post that the death of her mother was on July 13.

Jim Thompson, Broadcasters Foundation of America president, died on August 14 from throat cancer. Thompson announced last October that he would be retiring at the end of 2022, after a career dedicated to broadcasting. Thompson was 75.

Soap opera star Robyn Griggs died from stage four endocervical adeno cancer. Best known for her roles in “Another World” and “One Life to Live,” Grigg entered hospice care on August 11 and wrote in a July post on social media, “I told them whatever it takes, I’m in for the fight.”

This Day in History
1974 – The Ramones made their concert debut at CBGBs in New York City.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who played Lloyd’s mother on “Brotherly Love” (1995-97)? Estelle Getty. Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./New York, Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
What is Cece’s last name on “New Girl” (2011-2018)? (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