PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
A&E, Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and Entertainment Weekly are teaming to produce 8-hour docu-series Cultureshock, shedding light on the untold stories behind watershed moments in pop culture.
Production on Yellowstone, the first scripted series greenlit for Paramount Network, begins production in Utah this month. The series’ 10 episodes starring Kevin Costner will be shot near Park City through December; Paramount, rebranded from Viacom’s Spike TV, launches in January.
Freeform’s first original Christmas movie, Angry Angel, has started production in Toronto. The film, in association with Sony Pictures Television, stars Jason Biggs (Orange Is the New Black) and Brenda Song (Pure Genius), and will, of course, be part of the net’s annual “Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas” stunt.
Sony Pictures Television and Get Lifted Film Co. (Underground) have inked a first-look deal, reports Deadline. Get Lifted also had EP credits on La La Land.
TNT is developing sci-fi fantasy novel The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin. Leigh Dana Jackson (24: Legacy) will write the adaptation.
Fox gave a put pilot commitment to a comedy that pokes fun at series revivals like NBC’s Will and Grace and Fox’s own Prison Break. In Revival, the former star of a 1980s family sitcom is pressed into service for a revival of his old show, TV family and all. 20th Century Fox Television is producing in association with Fierce Baby.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
TLC’s Kindred Spirits is back for season 2 on Friday, September 15 at 9p, followed by the premiere of paranormal newcomer Evil Things, focused on haunted objects, at 10p.
A reboot of Hanna-Barbara animated 1962-1963 comedy The Jetsons nabbed a put pilot commitment from ABC. Exec produced by Robert Zemeckis, the update will be written by Will & Grace and Family Guy vet Gary Janetti.
Competition renovation series Game of Homes returns for season 2 on Discovery Family Monday, September 4 at 10p, with teams living inside run-down structures as they work to improve them.
Season 4 of Comedy Central’s Nathan for You launches (finally) on Thursday, September 28 at 10p. Season 3 finale of the docu-reality-comedy series, starring comedian Nathan Fielder offering unorthodox solutions for struggling businesses, aired way back in December 2015.
The official return date for TLC’s Cake Boss is Saturday, September 30 at 8p, but the net is whetting viewers’ appetites with early premieres of 5 new episodes available now on TLC GO. Five more drop on Friday, August 25.
The revived MTV Unplugged debuts with singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes on Thursday, September 8 at 8p. Also coming up on MTV: docu-series Dare to Live, starring videographer Rory Kramer, launching Tuesday, August 29 at 11p. In each episode, Kramer will take a musician (including the aforementioned Mendes) on a thrill-seeking adventure.
Two-night mini-series event The State airs Monday, September 18 and Tuesday, September 19 at 9p on Nat Geo, telling the stories of 4 British men and women who join ISIS in Syria. Drama from writer/director Peter Kosminsky is based on fictional accounts.
SOCIAL GOOD
ID and People are teaming for national public affairs campaign “Inspire a Difference,” aimed at informing a dialogue around topics like violence against women, domestic abuse and the suppression of civil rights. “People has become a great programming partner to ID through our hit series People Magazine Investigates, and we were looking for ways to extend our relationship beyond the screen in a meaningful and impactful way,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President, ID, Destination America and AHC. “The power of People’s editorial in their special sections honoring everyday heroes, as well as their special editions that put the focus on challenges facing women, aligns perfectly with our Inspire a Difference mission.”
COMING UP
A special episode of PBS’s Great Performances Landmarks Live in Concert will feature a Foo Fighters concert filmed in Athens, Greece. “I think this might be the craziest thing the Foo Fighters have ever done,” said the band’s frontman, Dave Grohl. Air date is Friday, November 10 (check local listings).
Blue Man Group will appear in the season 4 premiere of AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, on Saturday, August 19 at 9p. Fans will be able to enter a sweepstakes that includes 2 tickets to a Blue Man Group performance and a human paintbrush canvas of Gordon Clark as seen on the premiere, among other prizes.
Alan Jackson and Chris Stapleton have been added to the slate of performers at the 11th Annual ACM Honors special, airing Friday, September 15 at 9p on CBS.
Heavy metal star/ horror icon Rob Zombie will host HDNET Movie event Rob Zombie’s 13 Nights of Halloween, running from October 19-31. Zombie will introduce and share his thoughts on film fare including 1958’s The Blob, 1972’s The Last House on the Left and 2012’s The Devil Inside.
CASTING
Jasmine Savoy Brown (Will) has joined the cast of upcoming ABC legal drama For the People in a lead role….Frances O’Connor (The Missing) landed the lead in Hulu comic adaptation pilot Locke & Key…Bruce McGill (Rizzoli & Isles) will recur on season 3 of NBC’s Shades of Blue….In a recasting, Moran Atias (Tyrant) landed a series regular role in upcoming Fox medical drama, The Resident. Valerie Cruz played the role in the pilot.
DIGITAL DATA
Next-gen news net Newsy and Tennis Channel have been added to YouTube TV, now available in half of all households, thanks to an expansion into 14 new markets. Over 50 networks, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC among them, are onboard the Google-owned service; holdouts include networks from Turner, Viacom, Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive.
Snapchat has partnered with NBC and Telemundo stations on the “Clear the Shelters” pet adoption campaign for its “Stories” section tomorrow, August 19. Videos and snaps of users with their pets and participating shelters will be featured, and audiences will be able to activate Snapchat filters that complement the campaign.
Broadcast/digital TV net Vibrant TV will launch on VIDGO’s OTT streaming platform, an app designed to work on connected devices to deliver TV content at an affordable price. Launch is anticipated this fall.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Russia’s CTC ordered Armoza Formats singing competition The Final Four. A U.S. version is in the works at Fox.
Nancy Dubuc, president and CEO of A+E Networks, will be a keynote speaker at the Royal Television Society’s RTS Cambridge Convention, taking place September 13-15.
