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Thursday September 30, 2021

Today’s Finale
WE tv: Notorious Queens at 10p

IN THE NEWS

“All Rise,” canceled after two seasons on CBS, has found a new home. OWN picked up the Warner Bros. Television courtroom drama for a 20-episode third season, slated to air in 2022. Dee Harris-Lawrence, the executive producer/showrunner of OWN and WBTV drama “David Makes Man,” is executive producer and showrunner for “All Rise,” with series star Simone Missick serving as an executive producer for season three. “We are incredibly thrilled that ‘All Rise’ will be back in court, and we are so thankful to our great partners at OWN for ruling in favor of another season of this powerful drama,” said Brett Paul, President, Warner Bros. Television. OWN will also air seasons one and two in advance of the launch of season three.

Also making a comeback is “Law & Order,” returning to NBC for season 21. Production company Wolf Entertainment said the procedural drama, which left the air in 2010, will retain its format exploring the police who investigate crimes, and the district attorneys who prosecute offenders. How does Dick Wolf feel about the return of his flagship series? “There are very few things in life that are literally dreams come true,” said Wolf. “This is mine.”

YouTube has expanded its medical misinformation policies with new guidelines for approved vaccines that are confirmed to be safe and effective. Noting that it has removed over 130,000 videos for violating COVID-19 vaccine policies, the Google-owned platform said in a blog post on Wednesday that “content that falsely alleges that approved vaccines are dangerous and cause chronic health effects, claims that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease, or contains misinformation on the substances contained in vaccines will be removed.” The accounts of prominent anti-vaccine activists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Joseph Mercola, were banned as part of the effort.

YouTube’s tougher stance comes as new report from IPG Mediabrands criticizes platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter for allowing misinformation to spread. “The Dis/Misinformation Challenge for Marketers” report advises brands to shift media investments to platforms that are taking effective steps to halt the spread of misinformation. “Marketers are right to be concerned when they find their advertising near misleading content as, unchecked, it could harm their reputations and the communities they serve,” said Harrison Boys, director standards and investment product EMEA at Magna. “The industry, which joined forces against online hate speech and supported online privacy, needs to take a stand against misinformation and disinformation today.” The report notes that LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitch explicitly prohibit user-generated misinformation, and only those platforms plus Snapchat and TikTok prohibit disinformation.

To beef up brand safety on TikTok, Integral Ad Science is launching a new brand safety solution for in-feed video ads; using proprietary technology that IAS specifically designed for social environments, the new solution gives marketers greater transparency and granular controls to ensure their ads appear next to brand suitable content on TikTok. The technology helps advertisers to run ads within the “For You Feed” with a three-layered approach that goes beyond the creator level to provide precise scoring for individual videos across the platform.

ABC is passing the job of hosting “The Bachelor” to former NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer. Palmer, who starred in season five of the reality show and will now serve as host for season 26, is a college football analyst for ESPN, and also hosted ABC’s “The Proposal” (2018-19). Chris Harrison stepped down from his role hosting the Bachelor franchise after drawing criticism for defending a contestant who had attended an Antebellum party.

It’s time to unveil the 2021 Cynopsis Model D finalists. We applaud all the incredible work across content, marketing, tech and celebrate the teams who made it all happen. Thank you also to our tremendous panel of industry judges. We are so proud to present this great line-up. Join us in person at the Cynopsis Digital Model D & It List Awards Breakfast November 9th in NYC. Get your tickets today!

Ozy Media COO Samir Rao has taken a leave of absence as the company investigates a NY Times report that alleges Rao impersonated a Google executive in a presentation to Goldman Sachs investors. Rao hasn’t been the only Ozy exec under fire – CEO Carlos Watson pulled out of hosting the Emmy News & Documentary Awards after reports that the company has been inflating its audience numbers.

In more fallout from the Ozy Media allegations, Katty Kay resigned from the news site on Wednesday. “I had recently joined the company after my long career at the BBC, excited to explore opportunities in the digital space,” tweeted Kay. “I support the mission to bring diverse stories and voices to the public conversation. But the allegations in The New York Times, which caught me be surprise, are serious and deeply troubling and I had no choice but to end my relationship with the company.”

Three great reasons to nominate:
Team appreciation: Show your colleagues you appreciate their work
Earned publicity across Cynopsis platforms and industry insiders
Networking opportunities at the Best of the Best Awards Gala
featuring the Rising Stars February in NYC

NOMINATE by 10/29 and save $150

Onyx Collective has picked up “Reasonable Doubt” as its first scripted series. The drama, from writer/executive producer Raamla Mohamed and executive producer Kerry Washington, is produced by ABC Signature and will be streamed exclusively on Hulu. Mohamed leads an all-black writing staff on the series, and Emayatzy Corinealdi (“Middle of Nowhere”) is set to star. Washington will direct the first episode.

Lifetime has greenlit original movie “Caught in His Web,” produced by Cyber Productions in association with Johnson Production Group. Whoopi Goldberg is an executive producer. Inspired by one of the nation’s first cases of “sextortion,” the movie stars Garcelle Beauvais (“The Real”) as a local detective who is determined to help a group of teenage girls who are terrorized by a cyberbully. The movie also stars Alison Thornton (“Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”), Malia Baker (“The Baby-Sitters Club”) and Emma Tremblay (“Supergirl”). The film is slated to premiere in 2022.

Bounce has renewed dramedy “Johnson” for a second season, ahead of its freshman season finale on Sunday, October 3 at 8p. “Johnson” drew a network-record 2 million viewers across its debut on August 1.

Banijay Americas is launching new production studio Banijay Mexico and US Hispanic. Based in both Mexico City and at Banijay America’s LA offices, the studio will focus on original content in both English and Spanish for broadcast, cable and streamers in the Mexican and US Hispanic markets. Marie Leguizamo, who has served as an executive producer for unscripted series for the company over the last decade, will serve as the studio’s Managing Director.

FX’s pilot of the novel Kindred has rounded out its cast with Micah Stock (“Bonding”), Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”), Gayle Rankin (“Perry Mason”), Austin Smith (“Russian Doll”), Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (“Godfather of Harlem”) and David Alexander Kaplan (“The Resident”) as series regulars. Janicza Bravo, (“Zola”) will direct. The pilot is being produced by FX Productions.

“The Real World Homecoming” scored orders for second and third seasons from Paramount+ and MTV. “The Real World: Homecoming New York” premiered on Paramount+ in March, convening members of the original cast from 1992; LA alums will be the next to gather.

An untitled docu-series about disgraced former Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn landed a green light from Apple TV+. The project from Box to Box Films will be helmed by James Jones (“On the President’s Orders”).

The countdown is on for this year’s Esports Business Summit! Join us in Las Vegas to expand your knowledge, make new connections, and close more deals. You’ll hear the latest insights and strategies from esports biggest players like Bud Light, TSM FTX, Verizon, Twitch, Lenovo, NBA 2K, Riot Games, Stream Hatchet, XSET and more. Lock in your presence at EBS now.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Lucasfilm series “The Book of Boba Fett” will premiere Wednesday, December 29 on Disney+. The “Star Wars” adventure finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the Galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.

Season ten of “Call the Midwife” premieres on PBS Sunday, October 3 at 8p, followed by the season six starter of “Grantchester on Masterpiece.” Season 40 of “Nature” makes its debut Wednesday, October 20 at 8p.

Two-part “Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records” airs Sunday, December 5 and Sunday, December 12 at 10p on Epix. The docu-series tells the story of Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and the independent record label they started from a garage.

All six episodes of “The Next Thing You Eat” drop Thursday, October 21 on Hulu. In the docu-series, chef David Chang and filmmaker Morgan Neville explore the changes happening in the world, and what it will mean for the way we eat in the future.

Outdoor Channel docu-series “Kid Rodeo,” following six young rodeo competitors who experience the joy of competing, as well as massive injuries, premieres Friday, October 1 at 8p.

COMING UP

Netflix stand-up special “The Closer,” starring Dave Chappelle, will premiere Tuesday, October 5. Called “the sixth chapter” in a teaser for the show, “The Closer” is the sixth in a set of Netflix specials directed by Stan Lathan.

WarnerMedia Kids & Family is launching Scoobtober, a Halloween event celebrating Scooby-Doo on HBO Max and Cartoon Network, on Friday, October 1. Cher, Sean Astin, Jessica Biel, Terry Bradshaw, Lucy Liu, Jason Sudeikis, and Run DMC are among the celebrity guests in new episodes of “Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?”; also streaming during the month on HBO Max are 28 Scooby-Doo movies from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and the library animated series “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!”.

Roku will debut three horror-themed Roku Originals in October. “When the Street Lights Go On,” “50 States of Fright” and “The Expecting” will roll out weekly as a part of a “Freak Out Friday” campaign to bring streamers with new horror content on The Roku Channel all month.

Fox Nation will host its third annual Patriot Awards on Wednesday, November 17 at 8p. The Florida-based event will be streamed live on Fox Nation with an encore presentation on Fox News Channel on Sunday, November 21 at 10p.

Call for Submissions: Cynopsis is producing our annual Holiday Programming Guide, which comes out on October 28 and will be sent to all Cynopsis subscribers. If your network has holiday programming airing from October 28 through January 1, please send your listing to [email protected] and [email protected] no later October 15 with the subject line: Holiday Guide. To be included, programs must be listed by date, title of program, and start times, in the following format: “Thursday, November 19: Network Name: My One Christmas Wish at 9a, Paper Angels at 11a, 12 Days of Giving at 1p”. Holiday-related programs only! A confirmation email will be sent following each submission (if you don’t receive a confirmation email, please resubmit).

STREAMING

Subscriber satisfaction with the amount of original content offered on Apple TV+, a key metric that links most strongly to retention, continues to rise and has closed the gap with Netflix that stood at 25% at launch in 2019, to 19% in Q2 2021, according to Kantar Entertainment on Demand. Still, churn for AppleTV+ is high (12% in August) when benchmarked against the competition, and future intention to cancel is still in double digits.

Facebook has launched Reels in the US, bringing video experiences seen on Instagram to the Facebook app on iOS and Android. Reels are short, entertaining videos that can consist of music, audio, AR effects, text overlays and more, and can reach everyone, not just followers. Facebook is testing the ability for Instagram creators to have their reels recommended on Facebook, as well as launching the Reels Play bonus that will pay eligible creators based on the performance of their reels.

TECH TALK

Audience intelligence platform Helixa and audience insight company GWI have launched a joint initiative to integrate consumer predictive insights with expressed consumer intent. By matching GWI’s Core survey with Helixa’s behavioral affinity data derived from AI analysis of public social personas, “Global Audience View” enables a more granular and holistic look at digital-first audiences. The initial release provides insight into to US audiences, with eventual expansion of the platform to markets worldwide.

GOING GLOBAL

IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service, is now available in the UK. UK Prime and non-Prime customers can access IMDb TV through the “IMDb TV – Popular Movies and TV – free with ads” carousel within the Prime Video app. In the coming weeks, the service will also be available via a standalone app on Fire TV.

Red Arrow Studios International is heading into Fall 2021 with new titles across scripted, formats and factual programming. Among the offerings: international thriller “Blackout: Tomorrow Is Too Late”; true story “Australian Gangster”; and family entertainment format “Who Is the Phantom?”.

Highlights from Insight TV International’s slate include reality competition “Making the Squad: Fortnite Edition”; breakdancing show “Breaking Beyond”; and football lifestyle show “Garms Dealer.”

Beyond Rights’ autumn slate boasts 200 hours of unscripted content across a variety of genres. Highlights include feature doc “Facing Monsters,” focused on free-surfer Kerby Brown, and “MILKED,” exposing the whitewash of New Zealand’s dairy industry.

Canada’s Sinking Ship Entertainment announced new sales, among them BBC Children’s Productions’ reboot of “The Demon Headmaster” to Discovery Latin America and NRK in Norway, and tween mystery series “The Unlisted” to Ypsilon in Spain and E-Vision across the Middle East and North Africa.

See the Cynopsis 2021 It List honorees and join us for a special
in-person Awards Breakfast November 9 in NYC. We’ll be celebrating these superstar execs along with the fantastic Digital Model D finalists.

Secure a table for your team and find out about sponsorship opportunities. Vaccine mandate and safety protocols in effect for NYC venues. Details here.

MEET THE HONOREES MOL REGISTER TODAY

FOX drama”9-1-1” was the #1 entertainment telecast of Monday Premiere Week and delivered 11.3 million multiplatform viewers on Live+7, while the audience for the debut of the new drama “The Big Leap” rose 96% in multiplatform viewing, to 2.9 million, handing Fox its most-watched Fall Monday in Live+7 since 2019.

The series premiere of NBC sci-fi drama “La Brea” drew 6.37 million viewers and a 0.8 rating among A18-49, beating second episodes of fellow newbies “Our Kind of People” (1.49 million/0.3) on Fox and “FBI: International” (6.04 million/0.5) on CBS on Tuesday.

In syndication, “Family Feud” (5.3 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, down 5% from the week before) continued to top the syndicated game shows in the week ending September 19, with “Jeopardy” (5.1, up 24%) nipping at its heels. The week marked both the beginning and the end for “Jeopardy” host Mike Richards’ run.

Talk shows with big weeks included “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (14-week high 1.0, up 25%) for its 19th and final season, surging 33% in the W25-54 demo and beating its year-ago rating by 25%. “Ellen” ratings have risen 43% over the past two weeks. “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (0.9, up 13% in households) launched its third season with its strongest rating in four months and also outperformed the same week last year by 13%, while “The Drew Barrymore Show” (0.5, up 25%) scored with a second season opener shot outdoors on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. “The Dr. Phil Show” (1.7, up 21%) began season 20 tying “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (1.7, steady) for first place.

Broadcast Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of September 13 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Family Feud (CMV) 5.3 AA
Jeopardy (CMV) 5.1 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 4.8 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 4.5 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.2 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.1 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.1 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.7 AA
Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.7 AA
Hot Bench (CMV) 1.6 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 1.4 AA

Basic Cable Top 5 Nielsen Ratings for the week of September 20
Prime Time P2+
ESPN 2,746,000
Fox News 2,406,000
MSNBC 1,346,000
NFL Network 1,117,000
HGTV 957,000
Total Day P2+
Fox News 1,495,000
ESPN 839,000
MSNBC 731,000
HGTV 581,000
CNN 549,000
Prime excludes networks not in majority of daypart 50%+ in the prime daypart; Total Day excludes networks not in majority of daypart 50%+ in the total day daypart

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, September 28
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Bachelor in Paradise 2.82 (0.8)
CBS: FBI 7.37 (0.7), FBI: International 6.04 (0.5), FBI: Most Wanted 5.59 (0.5)
CW: DC’s Star Girl 0.47 (0.1), Supergirl 0.40 (0.1)
FOX: The Resident 2.96 (0.4), One Kind of People 1.49 (0.3)
ION: Chicago Fire 1.00 (0.2), Chicago Fire 1.06 (0.2), Chicago Fire 1.09 (0.2)
NBC: The Voice 7.43 (1.0), La Brea 6.37 (9.8), New Amsterdam 3.54 (0.4)
Telemundo: La Casa del los Famosos 1.18 (0.4), Hercal: Amor e Venganza 1.28 (0.3), Malverde: El Santo Patron 1.09 (0.4)
Univision: Disenando Tu Amor 1.71 (0.5), Si Nos Dijon 1.88 (0.6), La Desalmada 1.63 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Canela Media has tapped Julieta LaMalfa to serve as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Canela Media, LaMalfa spent more than six years at Stout Risius Ross as an accounting and financial leader.

Tiffany Faigus has been elevated from VP, Alternative Series and Specials to SVP, Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Unscripted.

Glewed TV has appointed Andrew Budkofsky as Advisor and Chief Revenue Officer. Budkofsky was previously CRO and publisher at Rolling Stone magazine.

The Paley Center for Media has named Elizabeth Rojas Levi, who most recently led global communications for Nokia Enterprise, as Senior Vice President of Communications, and promoted Rene Reyes to Vice President of Public Programming and Festivals.

Treasure Data, the enterprise customer data platform, announced the appointment of Eugene Saburi as the company’s first Chief Business Officer. Saburi spent nearly two decades at Microsoft, serving in a variety of executive roles including General Manager in the Server and Tools business.

Irish animation studio Lighthouse Studios has promoted series director and showrunner Gilly Fogg to Head Creative, responsible for creatively overseeing the studio’s original IP development and service project slates.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was Ted Knight’s first starring sitcom role after “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-77)? Escort service owner Roger Dennis, in “The Ted Knight Show” (1978). Kudos to: Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank; Joy Watson Jarrell-BroadBased/Jacksonville, FL; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX; Glen Freyer/NYC; Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Networks/NYC; Greg West-WATC TV/Atlanta; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Sandy Spiegel-WTTW/Chicago; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
What was Kristy McNichols’ first series regular role? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answer per time zone.)