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| Good morning and welcome to Cynopsis — the media industry’s essential morning read. Looking for something to watch tonight? History Channel is going full toga with the premiere of a new documentary, “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire” (spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well). |
 IN THE NEWS |
Comedian Ben Gleib is launching his own YouTube-native late night talk show on May 28.
· The first season of “Good Night With Ben Gleib” will consist of 42 episodes to be taped at the host’s Los Angeles home for a total of $1.5 million.
· “The Daily Show” and “Last Call with Carson Daly” producer Stewart Bailey will serve as showrunner, while Black Eyed Peas drummer Keith Harris will be bandleader.
· Speaking on Deadline’s Comedy Means Business podcast, Gleib described YouTube as “now the most powerful entertainment platform on Earth.” Still, he chose to finance the show himself rather than cut a development deal with the company.
· The takeaway: Gleib’s self-funded YouTube bet reflects a growing creator calculus: owning your platform and upside outweighs the security of a traditional network deal.
Versant has a home. The company, spun off from Comcast in January, entered into a long-term lease extension and a three-floor expansion at 229 West 43rd Street. The agreement grows the company’s total footprint in the building to almost 250,000 square feet, making it the largest office tenant at the New York City landmark.
Elon Musk’s venture SpaceX filed to go public last week. The paperwork reveals the company’s ambitions to boost its bottom line with AI-generated video.
· X is regaining some subscriber growth, and hopes to continue wooing users with new video capabilities. The company has been increasing efforts to expand AI video features ever since OpenAI abandoned its video generation tool, Sora.
· Some advertisers are also returning to X as brand deals and investing in user engagement become more popular marketing tactics.
· The takeaway: With OpenAI’s Sora out of the picture, X is moving aggressively to fill the AI video gap, and early signs of subscriber and advertiser recovery suggest the strategy may be gaining traction. |
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June 4 | NYC
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| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
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Samantha Bee (“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee”) will play Canada’s ambassador to Bulgaria in CBC workplace comedy “The Ambassador,” from Tim McAuliffe (“Son of a Critch”).
Two Tyler Perry dramas return this summer on Paramount+. The fifth and final installment of “All the Queen’s Men” debuts Wednesday, June 10, followed by season six of “Ruthless” on Tuesday, June 30. |
 All season 1 episodes of “Spider-Noir” drop tonight on Prime Video. The live-action series starring Nicolas Cage premiered Monday on MGM+, where it will continue to air weekly.
TLC’s “Jay & Pamela,” following a couple living with a rare bone disorder, returns for season 2 on Tuesday, June 30, at 10 p.m. |
Today’s Premieres
Discovery: Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch at 10 p.m.
History: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire at 8 p.m.
NBC: Brilliant Minds at 8 p.m.
Netflix: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder; My 2 Cents
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the agency to leave current retransmission consent rules intact. Streaming pay TV services like YouTube TV, Hulu Live, and Fubo, are held to different standards than linear and cable broadcasters.
· Under existing rules, these virtual pay TV providers (vMVPDs) are not classified alongside traditional pay TV operators like Comcast, despite offering broadly similar channel bundles for a monthly fee.
· As a result, retransmission consent deals with vMVPDs are handled by broadcast networks and their parent companies, rather than by the local station groups that negotiate retrans agreements with traditional providers.
· Station groups have long contended that taking over those negotiations directly would allow them to command higher retransmission fees from vMVPDs.
· The MPA urged the “the FCC to refrain from intervening in the video marketplace in light of increasing innovation, intermodal competition, and viewer choice.”
· The takeaway: The MPA’s stance benefits broadcast networks and their parent companies (many of which are MPA members) by keeping retransmission negotiations in their hands. |
| PRODUCTION |
| Among Netflix’s announcements at the Rio2C event in Rio de Janeiro was the streamer’s first Brazilian medical drama, “MED,” from Paranoid (“Criminal Code”). While hospital dramas are a big draw on the streamer globally — from “Grey’s Anatomy” to South Korea’s “Hospital Playlist” to the UK’s “This Is Going to Hurt” — Brazilian originals veer more to crime and thrillers. Adding a new medical drama to the mix could offer a fresh opportunity in Latin America’s largest market, especially off the back of a recently announced 60% viewing increase in Brazil.
NewsNation expanded its podcast lineup with four new shows spanning topics from politics to the paranormal. The Nexstar-owned cable network, however, is treating this as just the beginning. Michael Corn, president of specials and programming, described podcasting as a “remarkable new frontier,” telling Variety that a massive audience exists in the space — one that dovetails naturally with the network’s existing television programming. Corn also floated the possibility of bringing the podcasts to linear TV down the road, leveraging NewsNation’s newly built digital studios in Chicago.
Gravity Media joined forces with The Good Work Quickly to launch Gravity Media Creative Agency, a new venture bringing together strategy, creative development, and production capabilities for sports and entertainment brands spanning TV, documentary, digital, social, branded content, and live activations. The companies said the agency is designed to speed delivery and maintain creative consistency during live moments and multi-platform campaigns.
Production is underway in Ireland on the second season of Acorn TV’s “Irish Blood,” with executive producer Alicia Silverstone (“Clueless”) reprising her role as Fiona Fox. Season one debuted last summer and became the No. 1 series in Acorn TV history in subscriber acquisition. |
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| TECH NEWS YOU CAN USE |
| Pirated sports streaming services likely siphoned off millions of viewers from the Super Bowl’s ratings this year, a new report by ad tech auditing startup Adalytics suggests. These services work by creating and sharing mirrored versions of legal streams, often running their web traffic through Russian networks.
Omnicom is reportedly having private conversations with publishers about reducing its reliance on middlemen in programmatic media buying. It isn’t new for agencies to try funneling more spend toward “working media,” but it is less common for an agency to talk about avoiding parts of the ad tech supply chain. |
| COMING UP |
| Telemundo is going all-in on soccer on Sunday, May 31. First up: “Despertando al Gigante” (A Giant Awakens), a special that goes inside the U.S. Men’s National Team at 2:30 p.m. Then at 3:30 p.m., it’s game time: USMNT vs. Senegal, live from Charlotte, North Carolina. |
| SPORTS REPORT |
| Roku has launched Fox One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel. Subscribers have access to FOX news, sports, and entertainment — including live and on-demand coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026.
The NHL is partnering with custom shoe designer @thesurgeon to create NHL Built for Cup Chasers Sweepstakes for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. NHL partner NOBULL will supply the sneakers for the campaign along with the NHL. |
| DISTRIBUTION |
| Spain has become the second international territory to adapt the mental health format “Inside Therapy,” from Warner Bros. International Television Production’s Twenty Twenty. Local version “Terapia Abierta” is being produced by WBITVP Spain with local public broadcaster RTVE.
UK’s Channel 4 has acquired “Shergar: The Racehorse and the IRA.” The docuseries from true crime specialist Peninsula Television tells the story of the ransom of one of the world’s most valuable stallions. |
| RATINGS |
 “Dutton Ranch” has amassed 12.9 million views globally in the seven days since its premiere, for the biggest Original Series launch in Paramount+ history. The “Yellowstone” sequel is also the No. 1 streaming series based on average audience for the week of May 11, according to preliminary Nielsen data.
Prime Video’s YA hockey romance “Off Campus” is a hit, drawing 36 million viewers globally in its first 12 days. That’s the streamer’s third-best premiere season ever, after “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” and “Fallout.” Among women 18-34, the college soap — the first entry in Prime Video’s “Obsession Is in Session” 2026 summer slate — is Prime Video’s most-viewed debut ever. |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Patrick Paolini has been appointed CEO of Tegna. The former Fox Television Stations EVP of ad sales takes the helm as the company navigates litigation challenging its merger with Nexstar.
Hallmark Media promoted Jon Sichel to the role of head of distribution and business affairs. Sichel joined Hallmark Media in 2021 as EVP, general counsel and head of business affairs. |
Today’s Trivia Question
During the first season of “South Park,” which event was scheduled at the same time as Cartman’s birthday party? (Email answers to trivia@cynopsis.com and include your name, company and city. Answers limited to four per time zone.)
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which show was the first spinoff of “All That”? “Kenan & Kel” (1996-2001).
Congrats to: Ed Horwitz-Witz End Productions/Hollywood, CA; Justin Pierce-JP Productions/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Jarrett Hill-trblmkg/Cambridge MA |
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