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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Amazon ordered comedy pilot “Lifted,” which follows the lives of four geographically, socio-economically, and racially diverse American teenage girls united by an online community built around shoplifting. Starring Ivy Wolk, Veronica Taylor, Kate Godfrey and Annie Marie Elliot, the project is from “Jawline” director Liza Mandelup and “Yeast” director Mary Bronstein. A24 is producing with Amazon Studios.
FX handed a pilot order to drama series “The Border,” based on the third book in Don Winslow’s Cartel Trilogy. From Daniel Zelman, (“Damages”), Shane Salerno and FX Productions, the series reveals the dark truths about America’s failed 50-year war on drugs, from the streets of New York to the poppy fields of Mexico, the jungles of Central America and The White House. E.J. Bonilla (“The Old Man”) is set to star.
Hallmark Media inked an exclusive, multipicture deal with Nikki DeLoach. The “Five More Minutes” actress has starred in a number of Hallmark Channel movies, and developed, exec-produced and starred in “Reunited at Christmas,” as well as co-wrote “Christmas for Keeps” with her writing partner Megan McNulty.
Yetide Badaki (“American Gods”) is developing Nigerian vampire series “Naija Vamp,” on which she’s teaming with Payback Entertainment. The story is described as an “irreverent blood-sucking coming-of-age self-discovery romp” that centers on Bisi, who became a vampire as part of her Nigerian undead family heritage and is once again celebrating her 40th birthday.
Disney Branded Television extended its multiyear overall deal with producer Tim Federle and his Chorus Boy Productions banner, which currently has 13 Emmy noms for the series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” and the film “Better Nate Than Ever,” both on Disney+.
A second season of Cartoonito’s preschool series “Batwheels” is in the works for Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, season 1 became Cartoon Network’s top original preschool series with Boys 2-5 this year and is the No. 1 original preschool show on HBO Max.
OSN, the Dubai-based streaming and pay TV behemoth, boarded Saudi Arabian actress Ahd Kamel’s feature directorial debut “My Driver And I,” with plans to make it an OSN Original for MENA audiences in partnership with the Red Sea Fund, MAD Solutions and the U.K.’s Caspian Films.
Casting: Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power” added eight recurring cast members for the upcoming season 2: Oliver Alvin-Wilson (“The Bay”), Stuart Bowman (“The Pact”), Gavi Singh Chera (“The Undeclared War”), William Chubb (“Vampire Academy”), Kevin Eldon (“Game of Thrones”), Will Keen (“Ridley Road”), Selina Lo (“Boss Level”), and Calam Lynch (“Bridgerton”).
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
ViX+ drops romance drama “Travesuras de la Nina Mala” today (December 8). The series, based on the novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, follows the love story through the decades between a nonconformist young woman and a man trapped in a predictable routine.
Fox News Channel will begin airing “Yellowstone: One-Fifty,” hosted by Kevin Costner, Sunday, December 11 at 10p. Series spotlights the history and wildlife of Yellowstone National Park, which recently marked its 150th anniversary.
AMC+ and Sundance Now will premiere four-part drama “Litvinenko” on Friday, December 16. The real-life drama takes place in November 2006, when two police officers were called to University College Hospital in London to interview a Russian dissident who claimed to have been poisoned on the direct orders of Vladimir Putin.
Disney+ dropped a surprise trailer for season 2 of Lucasfilm Animation series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” The new chapter of the series bows Wednesday, January 4 and picks up as the Bad Batch continue their journey navigating the Empire after the fall of the Republic.
Drew and Jonathan Scott will face off in a new season of “Brother Vs. Brother: No Rules,” debuting January 11 at 9p on HGTV.
Competition series “The Traitors” will take a bow on Peacock Monday, January 12. Set in a remote castle in the Scottish Highlands and based on the popular Dutch series of the same name, the show features Alan Cumming as host to 20 personalities—including Arie Luyendyk Jr., Brandi Glanville and other reality show stars—who will compete in a series of challenges.
Yul Vazquez is joining with Forest Whitaker in the upcoming third season of “Godfather of Harlem,” which debuts Sunday, January 15 on MGM+. The series is inspired by infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early ‘60s returned from prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.
“Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus, and Mayhem,” the true-crime docuseries from Imagine Documentaries and This Machine, will debut on MGM+ Sunday, January 15, 2023, to coincide with the official launch of MGM+. The series pulls back the curtain on jewel thief Jack Roland Murphy, who orchestrated the biggest jewel heist in American history, at the Museum of Natural History.
Octavia Spencer is back, joined by Gabrielle Union, for a new season of AppleTV+ drama “Truth Be Told.” The third go-round, debuting Friday, January 20, will see Spencer reprise her role as an investigative reporter turned true crime podcaster who tackles a new case.
TNT will premiere “The Lazarus Project,” produced by Urban Myth Films in association with Sky Studios, Monday, January 23 at 9p. The first new scripted drama to appear on TNT since the April 2022 merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia, the eight-hour drama follows the latest recruit to a secret organization that has harnessed the ability to turn back time whenever the world is at the threat of extinction.
“Perry Mason” season 2 premieres on HBO on Monday, March 6 at 9p. The action picks up months after the Dodson case has come to an end, and the scion of a powerful oil family is brutally murdered.
“Yellowjackets” swarms back to Showtime on Sunday, March 26 at 9p. Season 2 continues the saga of a team of wildly talented high school soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. It chronicles their descent from a thriving team to savage clans and tracks the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later.
Peacock set April 20 as the release date for “Mrs. Davis,” the Betty Gilpin-starring drama described as an exploration of faith versus technology.
COMING UP
Coca-Cola, Imagine Entertainmentand Amazon are sharing the holiday spirit with “Christmas Always Finds Its Way,” a trilogy of short films that launches this week on Prime Video. Directors from three countries—Brazil, France and the US—created films around the common theme of connection during the holiday season.
Hindi fantasy film “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” is now streaming on Disney+. The first film of a planned trilogy and India’s first original universe, The Astraverse, is inspired by deeply rooted concepts and tales from Indian mythology, set in the modern world.
David Letterman travels to Kyiv, Ukraine, for an in-depth conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a special standalone episode of “My Next Guest” debuting Monday, December 12 on Netflix.
“Pelosi in the House,” a doc spotlighting the life and career of outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, debuts on HBO on Tuesday, December 13 and will also be available to stream on HBO Max. It’s the 14th documentary directed for HBO by its subject’s daughter, Alexandra Pelosi.
ViX+ unveiled the trailer for “Huevitos Congelados,” the fifth and final movie of the Huevocartoon animated film series, which debuts Wednesday, December 14.
“Call Me Miss Cleo,” the Gunpowder & Sky-produced documentary about the woman behind the Psychic Readers Network—the popular telephone hotline that later came under fire for its alleged deceptive practices—debuts Thursday, December 15 on HBO Max. The doc features testimonials from actors Raven-Symoné and Debra Wilson.
“The Pale Blue Eye,” the Christian Bale-starring drama centered on a mysterious, savage murder at West Point in 1830, will get its Netflix debut Friday, January 6 after a theater run beginning December 23. When the detective is at wit’s end in solving the case he enlists the help of an eccentric cadet with a disdain for the rigors of the military and a penchant for poetry—a young man named Edgar Allan Poe.
STREAMING & TECH NEWS
Hallmark Media’s SVOD service Hallmark Movies Now now enables use of Apple’s SharePlay feature. The move allows fellow subscribers who are iPhone, iPad and Mac users to watch movies and shows from the Hallmark library together.
Fox News Audioand live-streaming audio service TuneIn expanded their long-running partnership to includes Fox Weather for audio streaming.
SPORTS ROUNDUP
IMG and its digital agency Seven League unleashed their Digital Trends Report 2023, exploring tech and developments that will shape the sport media landscape for rightsholders over the next 12 months. Among toplines:
* Sports will see the continued advancement of tech-focused companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Apple. Rightsholders will need to show they can bring engaged fan communities to the table.
* 2023 will see an evolution in the use of web3 tech in ticketing, fan engagement, re-sellable digital merchandise and loyalty programs.
* The sports industry will realize direct-to-consumer is not a catch-all solution and will look to trusted third parties to help them navigate both D2C and B2B business revenues.
* Digital will continue to drive the model for women’s sports through the likes of OTT platforms, social channels, NIL rights, and sponsorship from brands seeking a direct connection to specific communities.
GOING GLOBAL
The BBC will begin to shut down its linear channels during the next several years as it “consolidates activity under one simple, single brand,” director general Tim Davie said during a talk at RTS.
Matt Lucas is turning in his apron. Lucas is exiting “Great British Bake Off” after three seasons as a presenter. He shared on his socials he couldn’t “imagine a more fun way of spending my summers,” but his schedule wouldn’t enable him to continue.
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