PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
YouTube has given a pilot order to half-hour comedy It’s a Man’s World (working title), written by Theresa Rebeck (Smash), to be produced by Assembly Entertainment in association with ITV Studios America. The pilot will be executive produced by Assembly Entertainment CEO Christina Wayne (I’m Dying Up Here) and Rebeck; Jill Greenberg is the co-executive producer. Original script was written by Heidi Schreck (Billions). Production begins in the fall.
Intaglio Films, the new scripted drama venture between Beta Film and ZDF Enterprises, and ndF International Production are jointly developing a new series based on Frank Schaetzing’s bestselling environmental thriller novel, The Swarm. Production begins in 2019.
OUTtv commissioned three new series: FAK YAASS from Bulldog Productions, Drag Heals from Border2Border Entertainment and Dr. Barry from Arcadia Content. The network also ordered a fourth season of Mom vs Matchmaker from Go Button Media and second seasons of Never Apart from Never Apart TV and Popporn from Border2Border Entertainment.
Management and production company The Cartel is expanding its footprint in North America by launching Cartel Pictures Canada, to bolster the company’s independent and television production business in Winnipeg. New venture will focus on production, financing and development of TV movies, independent films, and television series.
Sherlock versus Sherlock! We asked Cynopsis readers which TV detectives were the best of their decade. Our last poll has Sherlock Holmes from Elementary versus Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock. This polls ends today at noon, at which point we’re taking your winners from the past seven weeks and pitting them against one another in our new poll, “Best TV Detective of All Time”. Will you choose Emma Peel or Columbo? Rockford or Magnum? Castle or Mulder? Vote at http://cynopsis.com/poll/. Winner will be announced next Thursday night on our web site.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
History documentary Watergate will have a theatrical release October 12 in New York and LA, before airing on TV Friday-Sunday, November 2-4. “This special event series provides the most comprehensive look at the investigation, featuring many of the heroes and villains who played prominent roles in the scandal whose repercussions are still being felt today,” said Eli Lehrer, EVP and GM of History. Mid-term election date Tuesday, November 6.
Netflix is premiering Chinese drama The Rise of the Phoenixes on Friday, September 14, globally. 70-episode series is loosely based on the novel Huang Quan.
ID has a killer September in store, with the premieres of new series What Lies Beneath (Wednesday, September 5 at 9p), To Catch a Killer (Thursday, September 13 at 10p), and In Plain Sight (Friday, September 14 at 10p). Deadly Women is back for more mayhem Friday, September 14 at 9p.
EstrellaTV talker Noches Con Platanito is back for season five on Tuesday, September 4, at 9p, featuring interviews, musical performances, games and comedy.
Tracey Ullman’s Show returns for season three on HBO on Friday, September 28, a week after its premiere at the Tribeca TV festival.
Season two of AT&T Audience comedy Loudermilk debuts Tuesday, October 16 at 10p.
NBC and Litton Entertainment unveiled the net’s “The More You Know” Saturday morning programming block, launching October 6 with two new and three returning series. Consumer 101 and Vets Saving Pets are set to make their debut alongside The Voyager with Josh Garcia, Naturally, Danny Seo and The Champion Within.
Wolves and Warriors, following U.S. Navy veteran Matt Simmons and Dr. Lorin Lindner, the husband-and-wife team that run Lockwood Animal Rescue Center (LARC), a private sanctuary that rescues wolves and wolf-dog hybrids and pairs them with combat veterans working to overcome the traumas of war, debuts Saturday, September 1 at 10p on Animal Planet. What can viewers expect? “Through LARC and the Warriors and Wolves program, Matt and Lorin have created an inspiring and incredibly unique example of the many ways in which human beings and animals can learn from one another, and at times, help each other heal,” EP Shawn Witt, co-president of Leftfield Pictures, tells Cynopsis. “The series has something for every member of the family – from the rescued wolves, to intimate portraits of the combat veterans employed at LARC, high risk animal rescues and uplifting stories of companionship. Animal Planet is known for its programming that highlights the powerful relationships that exist between animals and people.”
COMING UP
CBS can’t wait for you to feel good. The net is offering advance digital access to the premiere episode of new series God Friended Me across the CBS app, CBS All Access, CBS.com, Facebook Premieres, Twitter, Instagram’s IGTV and multiple EST platforms, beginning today at 2p. “This is a show that deserves advance exposure. Once people see God Friended Me, they respond to its positive and life-affirming values,” said George Schweitzer, president, CBS Marketing Group. “Our marketing strategy is to get it previewed a full month early – free and uninterrupted – so viewers can sample it for themselves and help spread the word.” Series makes its linear debut Sunday, September 30 at 8:30p.
Justice Network is running a Labor Day Murder Mystery binge on Monday, September 3 from 9p-midnight. Shows include Pretty Bad Girls, Poisoned Passions and Most Evil.
The season two finale of Fox News’ OBJECTified will feature Charlie’s Angels alum Jaclyn Smith, on Sunday September 2 at 8p.
Special editions of ABC’s Bachelor in Paradise offers twists and turns like a fan-fave engagement when couples from seasons past come back to the beach where it all began on Monday, September 3 and Tuesday, September 4.
CASTING
Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) will star opposite Ben Kingsley as a young grafter in Epix drama Our Lady, LTD.
DIGITAL DATA
The Interactive Advertising Bureau announced the initial line-up of content creators for the first-ever Digital Content NewFronts West, taking place in LA on October 9-10. The event will introduce brands and media buyers to original digital video programming and showcase advertising opportunities across emerging media, including podcasts and virtual reality. Presenters will include Digitas, Ellen Digital Network, Gallery Media Group (PureWow, ONE37pm), Jukin Media, LiveXLive Media, Inc., Los Angeles Times, Meredith Corporation, The New York Times, Snap Inc., SoulPancake, Unity Technologies, Viacom Digital Studios, VICE, and FameBit By YouTube.
Flooded with complaints over its coverage in the UK of U.S. Open tennis, Amazon worked to address issues with picture and sound quality, odd camera angles and the inability to replay completed matches. “We are working with customers to address specific issues – we listen to all customer feedback and are continuously working to improve the service,” said an Amazon spokesperson. Amazon nabbed the UK rights to the tournament in April.
Maps in apps like Snapchat, The Weather Channel and StreetEasy were vandalized by an anti-Semitic user who changed the name of NYC to Jewtropolis. The incident appeared to have occurred via third party mapping data provider Mapbox. “We apologize to customers and users who were exposed to this disgusting attack,” said Mapbox, which removed the name change as well as other edits. “We will continue to investigate this act and make appropriate changes.”
Apple set a date for its next iPhone event: September 12. An invite said the event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple’s new campus in Cupertino, CA.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch asked the Federal Trade Commission to reopen an examination into Google’s practices in online search and digital advertising, which closed in 2013 without major enforcement action. Hatch cited reports that Google “has, on occasion, decided to remove from its platforms legal businesses that the company apparently does not agree with.” The request comes after President Trump accused Google’s search engine of promoting negative coverage of him and hinted at taking action.
DC Universe Digital Subscription Service launches Saturday, September 15, on “Batman Day.” The service’s original series Titans drops October 12, after its October 3 debut at Comic-Con, and will air weekly on the platform.
Stand Up To Cancer is producing its #Up2Us: Stand Up To Cancer | The Digital Live Show,as a one-hour standalone digital event from 4p-5p, one hour before the 6th biennial telecast on Friday, September 7. The Digital Live show will be co-hosted by longtime Stand Up 2 Cancer supporter Max Greenfield, Tyler Posey, who lost his mother to breast cancer in 2014, and Brenda Song, who lost her grandfather to cancer and whose mother is a three-time breast cancer survivor. Additionally, the digital show will feature stars and influencers like Uzo Aduba, Katie Couric, Ken Jeong, Olivia Holt, Candice Patton, Maddie Ziegler, Liza Koshy, Rhett + Link and more.
Jaunt, producer and distributor of immersive XR content, announced new R&D initiatives that support its Jaunt XR Platform. The B2B solution, which enables partners to distribute augmented, virtual, and mixed reality content through their own apps and channels, is a move away from attracting consumers and towards licensing its software to companies and brands.
Roku shares slipped 4.9% on Wednesday following a report that Amazon is launching a free, ad-supported video service for people who use Fire TV streaming video devices – all 48 million of them. Amazon’s shares rose 3.4%.
GOING GLOBAL
Banijay Rights acquired international distribution rights to new Spanish crime thriller Hierro, co-produced by Portocabo, Atlantique Productions and ARTE France.
