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Thursday December 1, 2022

IN THE NEWS

Notices of layoffs at CNN started going out on Wednesday and will continue today. “It will be a difficult time for everyone,” wrote CEO Chris Licht in a memo to employees. “It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.” Licht alerted staff in October that cuts in the news division were imminent, amid belt-tightening throughout the industry.

Also facing layoffs are nearly 30 employees at CBS Studios and Paramount TV Studios, as the Paramount+ scripted originals team joins Paramount TV Studios, and back-end functions are centralized. Eric Gray will head of finance for both studios; Kim Doneche will oversee legal matters for both studios; Kevin Berg will head production at CBS Studios and Liz Miller will oversee production for PTVS. “In each of these centralized areas, most of the team members under these department heads will begin to support and work across both CBS and PTVS projects, either immediately or over time,” said George Cheeks, President and CEO, CBS, and Chief Content Officer, News and Sports, Paramount+. “This is a new way of operating for many of us and will require healthy collaboration among leaders and teams.”

Paramount+ has renewed “Tulsa King” for a second season. The darkly comic gangster drama created by Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone”) and starring Sylvester Stallone was the number one new series of the year on cable with its Paramount Network debut.

Warner Bros. Television Studios is closing a deal with Amazon for animated DC-branded content, said chair Channing Dungey at Content London. “With animation we used to be about staying in-house but now we are doing it on different platforms,” said Dungey. “HBO Max is the first stop but we are in the process of closing a big deal with Amazon featuring DC branded content in animation.”

With a decline in political marketing, local TV-related advertising is projected to dip by 15% to $18.5 billion in 2023, according to BIA Advisory Services. Non-political advertising for all linear, OTT, and digital is expected to rise 3% to $18.2 billion.

Cox Media Group sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding DISH retract claims that CMG alleges are designed to mislead customers about DISH’s decision to black out CMG’s local television stations. “We asked DISH for an extension of our prior contract both in writing and verbally on several different occasions,” said Daniel York, President & CEO of CMG. “CMG is now publicly asking DISH yet again to put our market-leading stations back on their satellite platform under the agreement that we both have operated under for years, and we’re again inviting them to finally start engaging in a meaningful good-faith negotiation of a new contract.”

FOX Entertainment and writer/producer/director McG (“Supernatural”) have entered a broadcast direct development deal calling for McG and his production company, Wonderland Sound & Vision, to develop and produce drama series for FOX, which will own and distribute the programming created under the partnership. The broadcast direct deal reunites FOX with McG, who executive produced, and directed the first two episodes of “Lethal Weapon,” and executive produced “The O.C.”

Cineflix Productions is teaming with Gladys Knight and her Empress of Soul Productions to develop a returnable premium scripted miniseries based on the artist’s s life and career. “At the age of 78, most people in my industry have retired, but I’m just getting started,” said Knight. “Our partnership with Cineflix, sharing my life story, will allow me to leave a legacy of hard work and dedication.”

“Intercats,” an animated cat workplace comedy for Disney+ from Baobab Studios and Disney Television Animation, is in development at Disney Branded Television. It’s screenwriter Pamela Ribon’s first project under a first-look deal with Disney Television Animation.

SMAC Productions and Fubo Studios are co-producing an eight-part docuseries on the evolution of the Black quarterback in America. Through a series of conversations led by Michael Vick, the series will examine how on-field commanders changed the game and led off-field movements. Serving as executive producers are Michael Vick and Kijafa Vick; Constance Schwartz-Morini of SMAC Productions; and David Gandler and Pamela Duckworth for Fubo Studios. FredAnthony Smith (“NFL 360: The L.A. Marathon”) will serve as executive producer and director.

A drama based on the book Eliza Starts a Rumor, by Jane L. Rosen, is in development at NBC. From studio Universal Television, the drama will follow a group of women who are affected by an anonymous rumor in a mommy blog about an affair.

Canela Media is partnering with Exile Content Studio to co-produce season 2 of children’s series “Club Mundo Kids.” In addition to mindfulness and social skills, the series will feature STEM-focused episodes about space travel and NASA’s Artemis project.

Casting notes: Added to the cast of Disney+ and National Geographic’s “Genius: MLK/X” are Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”), Gary Carr (“The Peripheral”) and Hubert Point-Du Jour (“The Good Lord Bird”). It’s the first installment of the Nat Geo anthology series to stream as a Disney+ original….Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars”) has joined Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ “Family History Mysteries: Buried Past.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Apple TV+ series “Shrinking,” starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, premieres with two episodes on Friday, January 27. The comedy focuses on a grieving therapist (Segel) who starts telling his clients exactly what he thinks.

It won’t be pretty on HGTV on New Year’s Day, when a new season of “Ugliest Homes in America” kicks off at 8p. New episodes will showcase tours of 15 hideous properties nominated by their owners.

New OWN series “All the Single Ladies” debuts Friday, January 6 at 9p. The reality show offers views of intimacy and dating from the perspectives of Black women.

“Awake Surgery,” focused on operations done without anesthesia, debuts on TLC on Wednesday, December 14 at 10p.

Season two of HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness: The Parable of the Pirate and the King” premieres Friday, December 9 at midnight with two episodes. The six-episode season continues with two episodes airing weekly, concluding December 23.

“Inside The Black Box” premieres today, December 1 on the Crackle streaming app. The 10-episode second season is hosted by Joe Morton (“Scandal”) and celebrity acting coach, director, producer, and casting director, Tracey Moore. The hosts interact with celebrity guests in discussions about the role race plays in the entertainment industry.

COMING UP

Lifetime movie “Reba McEntire’s The Hammer” premieres January 7 at 8p. In the film, McEntire plays a traveling judge.

Ovation TV announced new programming for its travel-entertainment digital channel, Journy. Starting today and streaming through the month are “The Island with Bear Grylls” and “Bear Grylls Wild Adventure.” The network has also curated 37 winter and holiday season episodes.

TECH TALK

Google and iHeartMedia have agreed to pay $9 million to seven states that sued them for paying radio personalities to endorse the Pixel 4 phone in late 2019 and early 2020, despite never having used the device. The move showed “a blatant disrespect for truth-in-advertising rules,” said Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine.

STREAMING

Streaming audio service TuneIn has launched “Univision Top TV Shows” station, featuring a curated slate of Spanish-language podcasts from Uforia, TelevisaUnivision’s audio network. The “Univision Top TV Shows” station will include streaming distribution and on-demand playback of Uforia Podcasts, including audio versions of Univision entertainment and news programming including “Univision Reporta,” “Despierta América,” “El Gordo y La Flaca,” and “Noticiero Univision.”

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Attendees of this year’s Army-Navy Game will be treated to a stadium experience taking them back 100 years to when USAA, the game’s presenting sponsor, was founded. The free exhibit will be located inside Fan Fest on the North Side of the stadium and open as of 11a in Philly. When each visitor enters and registers at the activation, they will receive a physical, vintage ticket with a QR code to unlock 10 experiences throughout the activation tent.

The World Cup match between Argentina and Mexico delivered 4.48 million viewers on FS1 and Fox Sports streaming on Saturday, up 243% from the 2018 FS1 Group Stage average.

The England/Wales World Cup match drew a peak audience in the UK of 18.7 million cross-platform viewers (not counting public venues), the largest UK audience for the tournament to date.

“Thursday Night Football” coverage returns to Prime Video for week 13 at 7p with “TNF Tonight,” hosted by Charissa Thompson alongside Ryan Fitzpatrick, Richard Sherman, Tony Gonzalez and Andrew Whitworth. Kickoff is at 8:15p.

GOING GLOBAL

Banijay Rights struck a deal for “Big Brother VIP” to be adapted for the Republic of Kosovo. Co-produced by Klan Kosovo and Artmotion, the version launches on Klan Kosovo on December 5.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In which other current series does “The White Lotus” season 2 actor Bruno Gouery appear? “Emily in Paris.” Kudos to: Anderson Angad-Dentsu/Raleigh, NC; Peter Steckelman-Tennis Channel/Santa Monica, CA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Eric Morais/Detroit; Wendy Holmes/Denver; Marni C. Gold/Hawthorne, NJ; Cynthia Nelson-Revo Video/NYC; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta

Today’s Trivia Question
Who bought Alvin a harmonica on Christmas Eve on “A Chipmunk Christmas” (1981)? (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.)