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Today’s Premieres
Bravo: Below Deck at 8p
Hulu: Death in the Dorms
Netflix: StoryBots: Answer Time
Peacock: Pounding Instincts; Life We Share

Today’s Finales
HBO: The Vow at 9p
VH1: The Surreal Life at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Bob Iger, CEO of Disney from 2005-2020, is returning to run the company. He replaces Bob Chapek, who is stepping down immediately. “We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, in a statement on Sunday night. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”

The season five premiere of “Yellowstone” drew 15.7 million viewers in Live+3 Nielsens, making it the most-watched show on all of TV in 2022 and the most watched cable premiere since “The Walking Dead” in 2017. The debut was simulcast across Paramount, CMT, Pop and TV Land. “The premiere night was up across all demos, most interestingly with younger viewers up nearly 60%, proving this franchise still has a lot of room to grow,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime/Paramount Media Networks.

HBO anthology series “The White Lotus” has been renewed for season three. Season two, set in Sicily, debuted on October 30 and will conclude on December 11. Its first episode has been watched by more than 7.6 million viewers, and last week the series hit an all-time weekly high, ranking as the #1 title overall on HBO Max. Thanks to creator Mike White are in order, noted Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “It’s impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike orchestrated one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed shows. And yet, he’s only continued to reach new heights in season 2, which is the ultimate testament to Mike’s raw, unparalleled vision,” said Orsi. “His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we’ve come to adore.” Back atcha, said White, who is also the series’ writer and director: “There’s no place I’d rather work than HBO and there’s no people I’d rather partner with than Casey Bloys, Francesca Orsi, Nora Skinner and their incredible team. I feel so lucky to get this opportunity again.”

David E. Kelley crime drama “Avalon,” which landed a straight-to-series order from ABC in February, is not moving forward at the alphabet net after all. Producers A+E Studios and 20th Television are expected to look for a new home for the series.

CTV ad spend across all product categories was up 39% year-over-year in 3Q22, reaching $926 million, according to SMI pool data. Among product categories advertising on CTV, Travel, Auto and Restaurants saw the largest jump, with an increase of 159%, 96% and 90% respectively. The product categories showing the smallest levels of growth included Technology at 11.7%, CPG at 11.6% and Apparel & Accessories, with a0.5% increase in spend. Overall, total October advertising investment across all media fell -3% year-over-year, declining for the fifth consecutive month. However, at $8.5bn, October spending outperformed all other months in 2022, as the holiday push historically attracts advertisers. According to SMI, the decline is less due to recessionary fears and more the result of the ad sector normalizing from an overly hot 2021.

Havas Media Group has integrated new attention data from Lumen as part of its new Meaningful Media Planner. Lumen’s eye-tracking panels rank and score over 9,000 domains at a format level for the average attention they are likely to deliver. This data is used in conjunction with vetting of domain safety from SSP partners, DSP data, and Havas’ proprietary domain categorization algorithm to create a comprehensive assessment of media placements on metrics such as viewability, attentive seconds, and view rate in relation to domain, device, media type, and format.

CBS News has suspended its Twitter activity in the wake of Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of the company. “In light of the uncertainty around Twitter and out of an abundance of caution, CBS News is pausing its activity on the social media site as it continues to monitor the platform,” said Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News national correspondent, on Friday.

The Television Academy announced its newly-elected Board of Governors, who will serve two-year terms. Serving their first terms are Bobbi Banks (Sound Editors), Eric Becker (Lighting, Camera & Technical Arts); Mary Lou Belli (Directors);Hillary Bibicoff (Professional Representatives); Patrick Cady, ASC (Cinematographers); Lamb Chamberlin (Animation); Megan Chao (Documentary Programming); Tessandra Chavez (Choreography); Yvette Cobarrubias (Commercials); David Hartle (Production Executives); Christina Lee (Public Relations); Robert M. Malachowski Jr., ACE (Picture Editors); Lynn Renee Maxcy (Writers); Eddie Perez (Stunts); Gloria Ponce (Children’s Programming); and Kimberly Wannop (Art Directors/Set Decorators). Twelve governors are returning for a second term.

NewsNation is taking a novel approach to employee recruitment. The Nexstar Media Group-owned news network had a billboard erected near CNN’s Atlanta HQ announcing, “We’re hiring!”, with images of CNN alums Chris Cuomo and Ashleigh Banfield, along with Dan Abrams. CNN CEO and Chairman Chris Licht notified employees last week that job cuts would take place beginning in December.

Friday was Joshua Johnson’s last day on streamer NBC News Now. Johnson’s Twitter followers had a heads up. “Creating and anchoring @NBCNowTonight has been an honor,” he wrote. “Tonight (Fri Nov 18), that journey ends.”

Kandi Burruss revealed during an Amazon Live broadcast that her “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” spinoff “Kandi & the Gang” was not picked up for a second season on Bravo. Buruss will, however, be returning for season 15 of “RHOA.”

Donald Trump’s Twitter account reappeared on Saturday evening, after 51.8% of respondents to a poll posted by Twitter owner Elon Musk voted to reinstate the former president. Over 15 million votes were cast (“though there’s no guarantee that the poll wasn’t manipulated by the same bots that Musk has spent the past several months railing against,” noted The Atlantic.) Asked about a possible reinstatement, Trump, who was banned from the platform after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, said Saturday afternoon, ”I don’t see any reason for it.” Instead, Trump said he will stay with his platform, Truth Social, which he said had better user engagement and is doing “phenomenally well.”

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Rochelle Neil (“The Nevers”), Yazmin Belo (“What Just Happened”) and Saffron Coomber (“Eastenders”) have been cast as the leads in drama “Three Little Birds,” currently filming in The Midlands for ITV in the UK and BritBox International in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Nordics in 2023.

A+E Networks EMEA has commissioned “Cops Who Kill,” lifting the lid on cases of murder and betrayal by police officers. Produced by ITNP Productions, the series is slated to premiere on UK’s Crime+Investigation.

NBC is developing family drama series “Life, Changing,” from DJ Nash and Dana Honor (“A Million Little Things”). Nash is writing and exec producing, while Honor is exec producing through her Defining Eve Productions. Universal Television is producing.

“Dallas” alum Patrick Duffy is returning for another spin on CBS daytime soap “The Bold and the Beautiful” on November 23. He’ll be joined by actress Linda Purl (“The Office”), his real-life girlfriend, who will play his character’s significant other on the show.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

NBC reality spinoff “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars” premieres Monday, January 2 at 8p. Each week, 10 acts will perform for the judges for the chance to move on to the finals. The AGT Superfans will also vote on one additional act per episode to move on to the finals.

Original series “Bosé” will premiere Thursday, December 1 on Paramount+. All six episodes of the biopic based on the life of Spanish singer-songwriter Miguel Bosé will be available to stream in Spanish and dubbed in English upon launch. The show was one of the top scripted series when it debuted on Paramount+ in Latin America in November.

Not a football fan? Spinoff “Criminal Minds: Evolution” premieres with two episodes on Thanksgiving Day, November 24 on Paramount+. The series continues CBS’ “Criminal Minds” series, which ran from 2005-2020.

“Travesuras de la Nina Mala” (Bad Girl), based on the by Mario Vargas Llosa, will premiere on ViX+ on December 8, with new episodes weekly. Macarena Achaga (“The Wrath of God,” “Father of the Bride”) and Juan Pablo Di Pace (“The Mattachine Family”) star in the original production filmed in Paris, London, and Mexico City.

COMING UP

Mariah Carey will open for Santa Claus at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 24. Carey will perform “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” of course.

Episode title of the week: In TLC’s “Dr. Pimple Popper: With Every Cyst-mas Card I Write,” Dr. Lee and her medical assistant recreate scenes from their favorite holiday movies and make cards for their patients, as well as help patients look and feel their best festive selves. The one-hours special airs Thursday, December 15 at 9p.

Shania Twain will receive the “Music Icon” award at the “People’s Choice Awards,” airing Tuesday, December 6 at 9p on NBC and E!.

MeTV is remembering the late French actor Robert Clary with episodes showcasing his “Hogan’s Heroes” character. The tribute will air today, November 21 through Wednesday, November 23 at 10p and 10:30p. Clary died November 16 at age 96.

Ovation TV will celebrate the holiday season with a linear lineup of holiday movies as well as free programming on the Ovation NOW app starting December 1. Offerings include Nutcracker productions, the premiere of “The Story of Santa,” and films starring Natasha Henstridge (“The Christmas Switch”), Jay Mohr (“Christmas Do Over”), Wee Man (“Elf-Man”), and Linda Hamilton (“Home by Christmas”), among others.

Peacock’s “Sean Patton: Number One,” a stand-up comedy event produced by “SNL” cast member Michael Che, explores everything from Patton’s obsessive-compulsive disorder to his madhouse of an upbringing. “Sean Patton is one of my favorite comedians to watch perform,” said Che. “He’s incredibly original, thoughtful, and doesn’t let fear get in the way of his truth.”

“24 Hours After: The JFK Assassination,” an original podcast from The History Channel, will unpack the tragic day with the Secret Service agent who jumped on Kennedy’s car after the shots were fired, a White House pool reporter who chased JFK’s car to the hospital and saw LBJ sworn in, as well as scholars who shed a light on often overlooked details from the story. Launch date is November 22, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.

STREAMING

Cinedigm’s horror streaming service Screambox has scared up the company’s fastest pace of subscriber acquisition ever with the launch of “Terrifier 2” on October 31. Screambox subscribers grew approximately 144% over two weeks.

Beyblade is collaborating with online game platform Roblox to create branded in-game activations within fighting game Ultra Power and climbing game Tower of Misery. The new content will be available for mobile, console, PC and Tablet starting from Thanksgiving weekend.

FilmRise announced that Smart TV LG will expand its FAST channel offerings with the launch of a suite of FAST channels across North America, UK, Ireland and the Nordics in addition to FilmRise AVOD content for the LG Channels service. FAST channels include “Forensic Files,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “Heartland,” “21 Jump Street,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “FilmRise Free Movies.”

SPORTS

The College Football Playoff has set a lineup of artists for the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live!, taking place January 7-8 in LA’s Banc of California Stadium, ahead of the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 9, at SoFi Stadium. First up are the Jonas Brothers and singer/songwriter Em Beihold, followed on Sunday by Pitbull and Gayle.

FOX Sports has joined the Common Goal movement in a multi-year collaboration dedicated to sharing the story of soccer for social impact in the United States. Over the next three World Cup tournaments, FOX Sports and Common Goal USA will join forces in the effort to make soccer accessible, diverse and inclusive for all youth athletes and work to shift the narrative about the impact the sport can have to change lives, while capitalizing on the network’s promise to celebrate the beautiful game at every level of play.

AVOD Canela.TV is diving into World Cup action with documentaries, magazine shows and original sports show “?Qatar Al Dia on Canela Deportes.” “The World Cup is an event that cuts across all language, economic and country of origin segments of the Hispanic population, it’s a huge part of the Latino culture,” said Felipe Osorio, VP of Canela Deportes. “The content lineup we have created has something for everyone from up to minute news to the history of the competition and a wonderful series on the Mexican National Team.”

Plus if you watch the event on TV, you can have a cocktail. The sale of alcohol around World Cup stadiums in Qatar was banned on Friday, a reversal announced just two days before the start of the tournament. “Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing the sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters,” said FIFA. Earlier, it had been agreed that sponsor Budweiser would be able to sell beer at the stadiums. Budweiser will still have a presence at the stadiums – with non-alcoholic Bud Zero.

The Metropolitan Riveters of The Premier Hockey Federation have added Westinghouse as the Official Jersey Partner for the team during the 2022-2023 season. As part of the partnership, the Riveters will wear Westinghouse’s logo on their uniforms during all regular and postseason action. “We are so excited about this iconic partnership, because the historic ‘Rosie The Riveter’ poster created by artist J. Howard Miller was produced for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company,” said Riveters President Digit Murphy. “If you look closely at Rosie’s original shirt, she’s wearing a Westinghouse Electric Badge on her collar. Today, the Metropolitan Riveters are proud to wear Westinghouse on our ‘work shirts’ as well.”

GOING GLOBAL

Netflix dating series “Love Is Blind” is headed to Sweden. Banijay’s Mastiff Sweden is producing.

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RATINGS

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Thursday, November 17
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Enchanted 2.07 (0.3), Alaska Daily 2.50 (0.2)
CBS: Young Sheldon 4.84 (0.4), Ghosts 4.58 (0.3), Pickled 2.24 (0.2)
CW: Walker 0.80 (0.1), Walker: Independence 0.50 (0.1)
FOX: Hell’s Kitchen 2.07 (0.4), Welcome to Flatch 0.92 (0.2), Call Me Kat 1.14 (0.2)
NBC: Law & Order 4.57 (0.5), Law & Order: SVU 4.95 (0.6), Law & Order: Organized Crime 3.49 (0.4)
Telemundo: Exatlon Estados Unidos 0.96 (0.2), Reina del Sur 0.78 (0.2), Fuego del Destino 0.73 (0.2)
Univision: Latin Grammys 2.48 (0.7)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

MundoNow has appointed Dafnne Wejebe as Director of Audio Content. Wejebe was most recently Senior Podcast Producer & On-Air Talent at Univision.

Maria Whelan is being promoted to Vice President, Marketing & Brand Engagement, PBS KIDS, from Senior Director & Head of Marketing & Brand Engagement, PBS KIDS.

This Day in History
1931 – “Frankenstein,” starring Boris Karloff, was released.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the name of the animated show Drama landed at the end of “Entourage” (2004-11)? “Johnny’s Bananas.” Kudos to: Stephanie Nolan-Artists Agency/NYC; Creed Heilskov-ImOn Communications/Cedar Rapids; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC

Today’s Trivia Question
In which 1950’s sitcom did Zsa Zsa Gabor, Fred MacMurray and Edgar Bergan guest as themselves? (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