IN THE NEWS

Over-the-air broadcast television network Light TV, acquired by Allen Media Group from MGM in October, will transition to TheGrio.TV network on January 15, the start of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. The rebranded broadcast network will feature African American-focused content reaching over 100 million US households. “The Grio – which means ‘storyteller’ in Africa – is the first platform to offer an online digital news destination, a free streaming app providing local news, weather, sports, traffic, and entertainment content geofenced to the user’s zip code, and an over-the-air broadcast television network,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “TheGrio.TV is especially important to me as it will both serve and uplift all viewers.”

Showtime’s getting “Shameless” about holiday gifting, offering the season premiere of the dramedy’s final season, along with the series premieres of “Your Honor,” starring Bryan Cranston, for free on streaming platforms. New subscribers who sign up for the premium cable net before January 11 will receive a 30-day free trial and lock in a lifetime price of $8.99 per month.

Video game company Activision Blizzard is suing Netflix for grabbing its CFO, Spencer Neumann, in late 2018. “Netflix unapologetically recruits talent without regard to its ethical and legal obligations,” alleges Activision in a suit files in LA Superior Court. It’s not Netflix’s first time at this rodeo – the streamer has also been accused of poaching talent from Fox and ViacomCBS.

Netflix is also facing some backlash in the UK over “The Crown,” with Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden asking for a disclaimer making its clear that the drama about the royal family is a work of fiction. “Our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events,” said the streamer. “As a result we have no plans – and see no need – to add a disclaimer.”

The board of trustees of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan labeled a class action lawsuit filed last week “entirely without merit,” and said they will contest it. The lawsuit filed by 10 plaintiffs – including former SAG president Ed Asner – alleges benefit changes illegally discriminate based on age, with “draconian” measures taken in the midst of a pandemic. While Trustees estimate 3500 performers and 2800 of their dependents will lose benefits under the new plan, most of them will be eligible for coverage under Medicare or Obamacare, they say.

The Television Academy has made changes to awards categories, including the merger of the Variety Talk and Variety Sketch Emmy categories for 2021. The two had been split in 2015. Limited Series and Anthology series have also been merged, and a new category has been created to honor stunt performers.

BET renewed “The Family Business” for a third season. “We are honored and forever grateful to BET/Viacom for this opportunity to employ and empower our stellar cast and crew during these unprecedented times,” said Nikaya D Brown Jones, executive producer and showrunner. “To be granted a Season 3 is a testament to the strength and tenacity of our entire ‘Family Business’ Team and our ability to uplift and entertain our audience in the midst of it all.”

Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas” stunt is underway, and people-based advertising software company Viant looked at approximately 2.2 million viewers of the Freeform channel to find out what food brands viewers are more likely to purchase as they settle in to watch the likes of “The Santa Clause,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Home Alone.” Insights include:
· When it comes to holiday cookie baking (and eating) Freeform viewers are 13% more likely to purchase Nestle Toll House brand cookies, with Pillsbury coming in second at 5%.
· Viewers of Freeform are 35% more likely to purchase Horizon Brands eggnog. Silk Brands follows at 19% with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze coming in third at 11%.
· 16% of viewers prefer the brand Ghirardelli for hot chocolate. Hershey’s, Nestle, and Swiss miss all follow at 6%, 4% and 3% in terms of likeliness to purchase.

To discover new holiday programming and find old favorites, go to the Cynopsis Holiday Guide.

Ava DuVernay is developing DC teen superhero drama “Naomi” for CW. DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks will produce in association with Warner Bros. Television. Jill Blankenship (“Arrow”) is onboard to write and exec produce.

How has shooting for ABC’s extreme decorating competition, “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” been affected by COVID-19? Season eight, premiering Wednesday, December 9 at 8p, filmed in 2019 – but season nine was shot this fall, mid-pandemic, and it was a different experience. “’The Great Christmas Light Fight’ shoots at twenty-four different locations around the country, so we customized our COVID protocols to meet the show’s unique travel challenges…all while exceeding the entertainment industry’s ‘Safe Way Forward’ guidelines,” Brady Connell, EP of The Great Christmas Light Fight, tells Cynopsis. “In addition to strict testing, PPE, and closed-set zone procedures, we had crew drive from location to location in individual rental cars to uphold and maintain social distancing while traveling. We also had a full-time COVID-19 Compliance Officer embedded with each of our 4 traveling crews. One of our on-camera judges, Carter Oosterhouse, even traveled in an Airstream to limit exposure during the seven-week schedule.”

Ryan Michelle Bathe (“All Rise”) struck a first-look deal with ViacomCBS MTV Entertainment Group, to develop and executive produce programming with an emphasis on emerging talent and underrepresented voices.

Adrianna Mitchell (“The Good Fight”) has joined season four of FX’s “Snowfall” in a recurring role…Also set for a recurring role is Gabriela Flores (“The Last Ship”), in CW’s “Walker.”

COMING UP

HGTV holiday special “White House Christmas 2020” premieres Sunday, December 13 at 6p, spotlighting this year’s décor theme, America the Beautiful. Narrated by Alison Victoria (“Windy City Rehab”), the special is also a retrospective on the last decade of holiday transformations at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Six Degrees with Mike Rowe” premieres on Discovery+ with the Monday, January 4 launch of the streaming service. In the new series, the “Dirty Jobs” host links some of society’s taken-for-granted moments to their surprising origins, and connects them to the modern world of today. Also available at launch will be “Frozen in Time,” a home renovation series starring Maureen “Marcia” McCormick and interior designer Dan Vickery overhauling SoCal homes stuck in a time warp.

Outrageous killers in the Sunshine State are examined in Oxygen’s “Florida Man Murders,” debuting with a two-night series premiere on Saturday, January 9 and Sunday, January 10 at 7p. Also bowing next month on the true crime net: “Framed By the Killer” on Friday, January 15 at 9p; “One Deadly Mistake” at 9p on Saturday, January 16; and “Exhumed” on Sunday, January 17 at 7p.

Scary Mommy has partnered with Huggies to produce a late-night talk show for moms, by moms called “Up Early Tonight.” The show’s format includes monologues, a panel, and parodies geared toward giving 2020 moms relatable comic relief. The show will stream on Hulu on Thursday, December 17, with four 20-minute episodes.

Tea is sure to be spilled during the three-part season five reunion of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of the Potomac,” starting Sunday, December 13 at 9:15p.

STREAMING

Local TV stations in 12 US cities will be added to Amazon’s Fire TV news app by year’s end, with another 90 headed for the streamer in 2021. “There have been so many important events and stories in 2020 that have driven the news industry like never before; and we believe it’s more important than ever to provide free access to both local and national news for all our customers,” said Amazon Fire TV VP Sandeep Gupta. “Adding access to local news is the latest step in our commitment to helping our customers stay informed. We’ve been amazed by the popularity of Amazon’s news app and view local news as the next indispensable piece for our customers.”

The Weather Channel’s free streaming service, Local Now, inked a distribution partnership with Cinedigm. The deal gives the Local Now audience acess to channels including “The Bob Ross Channel,” “Gametoon,” “FashionBox,” “Art House HD,” “Dove Channel,” and more. Cinedigm channels will also become available on Local Now’s portfolio of OTT, CTV, mobile, and TV platforms at the end of the year.

Crunchyroll and Loading announced a partnership that will bring more than 50 Crunchyroll series to linear TV in Brazil. Among the titles that will be available is “Goblin Slayer,” as well as a late-night block for mature viewers, with explicit violence. Loading will also dub a number of titles in partnership with Crunchyroll.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which series centered on an astronaut who was accidentally frozen for over 500 years? “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” (1979-81). Kudos to: Austin Cassidy-Meridian Interactive/Jacksonville, FL, Ken Nice-TeamPeople/Falls Church, VA, Carolyn Hayes/Atlanta, Ted Linhart-NBCU/NYC, Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago, Andy Nelson-Heartland Industries/Richland, IA, Beth Stockton-Spectrum Reach/Kansas City, KS, Dave Sikula-San Francisco State University/San Francisco, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, Ethan J. Tyler-Fox Corporation/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
What had been Gary’s college major on “Veep” (2012-19)? (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.)