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Monday February 12, 2024

Today’s Finale
HGTV: Celebrity IOU at 8p

IN THE NEWS

Elon Musk is offering to help pay for the legal cases of people who want to sue Disney for discrimination. “If you were discriminated against by Disney or its subsidiaries (ABC, ESPN, Marvel, etc), just reply to this post to receive legal support,” posted the billionaire on X. The move comes as actress Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm, with funding from Musk, for firing her from “The Mandalorian” for posting right-wing views on social media. Musk has made Disney a target since the company, along with others, suspended advertising on X/Twitter.

“The Emmy Awards” return to ABC – and Sunday – on September 15 at 8p, live from LA’s Peacock Theater. For the past two years, on Fox and NBC, the show aired on Mondays.

Taking home TV trophies at the Directors Guild Awards on Saturday were teams from “The Last of Us,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love,” “The Bear,” “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Lessons in Chemistry,” “Stand Up and Shout: Songs From a Philly High School,” and “Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss.” Opening the show, filmmaker Judd Apatow joked, “’Suits” was the most watched show of all last year. And Hollywood noticed this trend. So here’s what’s happening next year: In April, Max is presenting a hot show that they’re very excited about – ‘Remington Steele.’ On Netflix, there’s all eight season of ‘Barnaby Jones.’ On Paramount+, they’re unveiling their newest star, the late Ed Asner.”

Television winners at the Art Director Guild Awards the same night were design teams at “Beef,” “Succession,” “Reservation Dogs,” “The Great,” “Squid Game: The Challenge” and the 80th Golden Globe Awards.

TV series up for PGA Awards include dramas “The Crown,” “The Diplomat,” “The Morning Show” and “Succession.” Nominees in the comedy category are “Barry,” “The Bear,” “Jury Duty,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Ted Lasso.” Vying for anthology or limited series are “All the Light We Cannot See,” “Beef,” “Daisy Jones and the Six,” “Fargo” and “Lessons in Chemistry.” Winners will be announced at the 35th annual awards ceremony, taking place February 25.

Everything Gold is new again: On the heels of the success of “The Golden Bachelor” – 43.4 million total viewers after 35 days of viewing, and the number one new unscripted series among A18-49 – ABC has ordered “The Golden Bachelorette,” slated to debut in the fall. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon.

No sooner had season three launched, than ABC renewed “Abbott Elementary” for a fourth run. Last season, The comedy delivered a 3.56 rating in A18-49 after 35 days of viewing across platforms, marking the strongest season average for an ABC comedy since the 2019-2020 season and ranking as ABC’s No. 1 multiplatform series. Also coming back are ABC’s “Celebrity Family Feud” for season ten, and “Jeopardy! Masters” for season two, announced the network during the TCA press tour.

As for ABC warhorse “Grey’s Anatomy,” headed into season 20, “The show is as creatively strong as it’s ever been,” said Craig Erwich, President of Disney Television Group, during the network’s TCA session. “It’s fueling growth for our streaming platform ….for people who are still starting with episode one 20 seasons ago, they can watch it all the way through and are concurrently participate in the conversation that the show generates on a weekly basis.”

Disney Branded Television ordered a second season of “Goosebumps” for Disney+. The new eight-episode season from Sony Pictures Television will feature a new story, setting and cast based upon R.L Stine’s book series. Also picked up were third seasons of Disney Junior’s “Superkitties” and “Pupstruction.”

Chris Houghton and Shane Houghton (“Big City Greens”) inked a deal with Disney Branded Television calling for them to produce animated projects with Disney Television Animation studio as well as develop live-action projects within Disney Branded Television across linear and streaming platforms. Additionally, the deal includes development opportunities for adult animation projects with 20th Television Animation.

Nat Geo greenlit “Legends” (w/t), following the world Bollywood fusion dance competition. From director Smriti Mundhra (“Indian Matchmaking”) and producer Joe Lewis (“Fleabag”), the six-part series is produced by Maralta Films, Amplify Pictures and 30WEST.

Also on the way to Nat Geo are “Pathological: Chasing a True-Crime Con Man,” a docuseries following serial killer expert Stéphane Bourgoin from The New Yorker Studios and Left/Right, and the next installment of the “Shark Beach” franchise, special “Shark Beach With Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast,” produced in partnership with Nutopia.

Manolo Caro (“House of Flowers”) has signed a multi-year first-look deal with Onyx Collective. “Manolo Caro is in a rare class of storytellers who blend heart and humor to reveal the essence of what makes us all human,” said Tara Duncan, President, Onyx Collective. “He is a proven hitmaker, and we’re excited to bring his universal stories to the Hulu audience.”

Oscars EP and showrunner Raj Kapoor and executive producers Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan announced members of their production team for the March 10 ceremony on ABC. Rob Paine returns as co-executive producer, and Taryn Hurd returns as talent producer. Producers Sarah Levine Hall, Erin Irwin and Jennifer Sharron, music director Rickey Minor and lighting designers Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz also rejoin the team.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

All eight episodes of Hulu’s “Queenie,” following a Jamaican woman living in London straddling two cultures, drop June 7.

FX set its spring slate. On the way are part two of “American Horror Story: Delicate,” starting Wednesday, April 3 at 10p; season three of “Welcome to Wrexham” on Thursday, April 18 at 10p; feature New York Times Presents “Broken Horses” on Friday, April 26 at 10p; and exclusively on Hulu, “The Veil” on Tuesday, April 30 and “Clipped” on Tuesday, June 4.

Also arriving on Hulu: limited series “Under the Bridge” on Wednesday, April 17; documentary “Freaknik: The Wildest Story Never Told” on Saturday, March 23; and “The Contestant,” telling the story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room to fill out sweepstakes forms, on Thursday, May 2.

“Renegade Nell,” following a girl framed for murder in 18th-century England who becomes a notorious outlaw, premieres Friday, March 29 on Disney+.

ChaiFlicks is launching three-part docuseries “Birth of a Conflict” this month. The series, acquired from Mediawan Rights, explores the inception of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with never-before-seen interviews and footage dating back to the 30-year British Mandate of Palestine.

COMING UP

The AMC Networks upfront event has made a move – from April 11 to April 10. No change to the content, which will include immersive experiences, talent integrations, upcoming programming highlights and a spotlight on technological advancements like addressable and programmatic buying on all platforms.

“The Color Purple” makes its streaming debut on Friday, February 16 on Max. The 2023 Warner Bros. film stars Fantasia Barrino, reprising her Broadway role.

Future Today is celebrating Black History Month with programming celebrating cultural heritage and promoting the ongoing pursuit of equality. “As we honor Black History Month, it’s imperative to recognize the transformative power of storytelling in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Vikrant Mathur, Co-Founder of Future Today. “Fawesome Black Cinema, Filmrise Black TV and Maverik Black Cinema exemplify this ethos.”

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Sinclair Inc. is exploring bringing in an equity partner for the Tennis Channel, according to Front Office Sports. In 3Q23, Tennis Channel, the network’s streaming operations, and Tennis.com reported $59 million in revenue, up by 9%. Sinclair has hired investment bank Moelis & Co. to handle inquiries about the network, which it purchased in 2016 for $350 million.

GOING GLOBAL

Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux, will produce “Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track” for Viaplay. The series, a collaboration between Scenery, Viaplay and Verstappen, looks at the life of the Formula 1 world champion.

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Part one of Bravo’s season 10 reunion for “Vanderpump Rules” is Bravo’s most-watched episode of all time across platforms, with 5.9 million viewers in L+35 tuning in for the aftermath of Scandoval. Overall, the season saw 109% growth.

The US cable premiere episodes of “Hudson & Rex” on UPtv hit new highs on February 1, ranking # 17 in HH coverage ratings among all cable networks in the time period.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

3BMG has named Patrick Agans as President of 3 Ball Productions. Agans boards the company from Fly on the Wall Entertainment, where he headed development as EVP.

AccuWeather has appointed Rushelle Y. Bailey Esq. as General Counsel. Bailey joined AccuWeather as an Assistant General Counsel in 2019.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In which series did Ed O’Neill play a character who talked to birds? “John from Cincinnati” (2007). Kudos to: Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Andrew Goldman-Phanes Funding Group/NYC; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Kevin McDonough-Wavemaker/NYC; Susan Nessanaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which actor played a mobster on “Sopranos” (1999-2007) and guest starred as an angel on “Lucifer” (2016-21)? (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