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| Wednesday, October 14, 2026 |
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Happy hump day! Check out the top news this morning:
- Discovery+ Prices Are Going Up
- ‘SNL’ Gets A Digital Creator For A Host
- Ryan Coogler’s ‘X-Files’ Reboot Is Coming to Hulu
If you haven’t submitted to our Cynopsis Holiday Guide, there’s still plenty of time! Please send your listings (from Nov. 4 to Jan. 1) to janetdilauro@gmail.com, alyssa@cynopsis.com and victoria@cynopsis.com no later than Oct. 23 with the subject line: Holiday Guide.
To be included, programs must be in the following format:
Thursday, November 19: Network Name: My One Christmas Wish at 9a, Paper Angels at 11a, 12 Days of Giving at 1p.
A confirmation email will be sent following each submission. If you don’t receive a confirmation email, please resubmit!
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| In The News |
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That didn’t take long. Skydance announced that Discovery+ is raising its prices just a week after the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger closed.
- In keeping with current pricing trends, the Discovery+ ad-supported plan has only increased by a buck to $6.99 per month, while the ad-free plan is now $2 more expensive at $11.99 per month.
- Sources tell Variety that the price increase was planned months ago. Even so, it’s not a great look for Skydance, especially considering the combined company is already planning to consolidate Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming service.
- Oh, the irony. WBD once planned to combine HBO Max and Discovery+, but scrapped the idea because the services had little audience overlap and sharply different price points. Executives feared that asking Discovery+ subscribers to pay HBO Max’s $10.99-per-month ad-supported rate would drive people to cancel.
Putting the ‘All’ in All Access. Meanwhile, in a different part of Skydance’s newly combined business, CNN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, CNN All Access, will expand access to the United Kingdom and Canada starting Oct. 20. It will cost approximately $6.60 per month in the UK and $5.60 per month in Canada.
The 48th Annual Telly Awards, which honors video production work across film, TV, social media, commercials, branded content and more, is introducing a brand-new slate of categories for microseries and generative AI. Early entries are open through Dec. 11.
Druski
TikTok and Instagram star Druski will host “Saturday Night Live,” according to a scoop from Puck that was later confirmed by Variety. Although he’s the first major digital creator to host, he’s not the only comedian with a TikTok presence to appear on the show (as Jane Wickline, Grace Reiter and the members of Please Don’t Destroy can attest, to name just a few).
Reese Witherspoon is partnering with European studio Mediawan to buy back her production company Hello Sunshine, which she sold to Candle Media for $900 million in 2021. Hello Sunshine has produced a number of popular TV series, including “Lucky” and “The Morning Show” for Apple TV.
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| New & Returning Series |
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For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park.
Crime procedural “High Potential” has secured the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot, ABC announced Tuesday. The new season begins sometime in early 2027.
Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon in “The Gilded Age”
Season 4 of “The Gilded Age,” the 19th-century New York period drama from the creator of “Downton Abbey,” debuts on HBO Max Nov. 1.
The long-anticipated “Baywatch” reboot released its first full trailer on Tuesday. The season premiere hits Fox in January 2027.
“My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” TLC’s unscripted reality series featuring Whitney Way Thore, will return for a new season on Nov. 10.
Season 2 of “The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins,” starring Tracy Morgan (“30 Rock”) and Daniel Radcliffe (“Miracle Workers”) returns to NBC on Nov. 2.
Apple TV’s heist series “12 12 12,” starring Anthony Mackie (“Twisted Metal”) and Jamie Dornan (“Once Upon a Time”) debuts its first episode on Nov. 13.
Comedy streaming service Dropout announced that its first scripted live-action series in seven years is coming to the platform on Nov. 4. “MP3” stars Jeremy Culhane (“SNL”), Skye Townsend (“iCarly”) and Aparna Nancherla (“Bojack Horseman”) as hosts of a fictional music video countdown show in the vein of MTV’s “TRL.”
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| Partner content |
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| Today’s Premieres |
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Comedy Central: “Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head” Season 4 at 10:30 p.m.
Disney+: “VisionQuest”
FX: “The Lowdown” Season 2 at 9 p.m.
Netflix: “Love Is Blind” Season 11
PBS: “NOVA: Evolution” at 9 p.m.
Prime Video: “Helluva Boss” Season 3
TLC: “Untold Stories of the ER” Season 16 at 9 p.m.
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| Production |
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The “X-Files” pilot from Oscar-winning director Ryan Coogler was given a full series order by Hulu. The rebooted series stars Himesh Patel and Danielle Deadwyler (“Station Eleven”) as FBI agents tasked with investigating supernatural cases.
Meanwhile, “Bella from Barneys” landed a series order at Amazon. The new series from “Gossip Girl” creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage follows an employee at the legendary Barneys department store (which closed its brick-and-mortar locations in 2020) who becomes a personal shopper to a New York socialite.
Iconic millennial series “Girls” is returning to HBO for five new episodes in 2027 set 10 years after the Season 6 finale. Series creator Lena Dunham will return alongside Allison Williams (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Jemima Kirke (“Sex Education”), Zosia Mamet (“The Flight Attendant”) and Andrew Rannells (“Invincible”).
British broadcaster Channel 4 announced the release of its first-ever original microdrama, a series about female friendship called “The Guest List.” The series will premiere on social platforms in late October.
The BBC announced a two-part documentary series about J.K. Rowling, with Episode 1 focusing on her history as the author of “Harry Potter” and Episode 2 delving into her controversial views about transgender rights.
The creative team behind “Archer” has a new animated comedy series in the works at HBO. “Merrick & Treves,” about a time-traveling Joseph “The Elephant Man” Merrick and surgeon Sir Frederick Treves, has already been picked up for two seasons.
Scarlett Johansson
“The Traitors” was such a hit, so why not throw another social deduction reality competition series in the mix? Peacock has greenlit a show based on the popular real-life game “Assassins,” with Scarlett Johansson set to executive produce.
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| Tech News You Can Use |
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Character.AI, the controversial startup that facilitates user conversations with chatbots represented by fictional avatars, declared bankruptcy Monday – and now Disney is considering a $20 million bid for some of its assets.
- That’s a notable turn for a company Disney once hit with a cease-and-desist letter over copyright infringement – and whose former CEO, Karandeep Anand, Disney recently hired as its CTO.
- Considering that Disney was originally willing to spend $1 billion on a licensing deal with OpenAI before the company’s video app, Sora, was discontinued, $20 million feels like a steal.
NBCUniversal officially launched “Your Bravoverse,” a new experience within the Peacock mobile app that recommends AI-edited playlists of Bravo franchises, complete with an AI-generated avatar of Andy Cohen (“Watch What Happens Live”). The feature was first announced in March.
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| Coming Up |
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National Geographic’s new one-hour special, “Expedition: Saving Our Seas,” will premiere Nov. 13 at 9 p.m.
Disney announced that “A Proud Family Wizmas,” a new stop-motion holiday special, will premiere on Disney+ Nov. 14. The special features voice performances from Anderson .Paak (“Trolls: Holiday in Harmony”), Lil Rel Howery (“The Carmichael Show”), JB Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Gabrielle Union (“Being Mary Jane”), among others
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| Sports Report |
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Netflix has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Spain and Andorra, including the live pregame, halftime and postgame coverage for all 104 matches. The streamer will work with a local TV partner, though it has not yet said which one.
DirecTV announced a new feature that allows streaming customers to watch up to four sports games on one screen. Called “Build Your Own Multiview,” the experience includes national channels, such as ESPN, FS1, NFL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network and some participating local broadcast channels.
As of July 2026, a whopping 75.2 million Americans now identify as soccer fans, according to new data from Nielsen’s Fan Insights. That’s a huge jump from 66.8 million self-proclaimed fans in July 2025.
TV network AWE will air the live IBO Super Welterweight title fight between Milan Pratt and Brandon Thysse on Oct 15 at 2.p.m.
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| Distribution |
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Skydance and Spanish streaming platform Movistar Plus have extended their distribution partnership for another two years. Both companies will now also develop and produce TV series together under a joint Movistar Plus and HBO Original label.
Korean entertainment group CJ ENM has struck a partnership with Saudi media company MBC Group to launch a branded hub for its Korean streaming service, TVing, on MBC’s streaming service, Shahid.
ITV bought the rights to two new international series: “The Galway Bay Murders” from Ireland, starring Kate Mulgrew (“Star Trek: Voyager”) and Colm Meaney (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”); and Australian crime thriller “Last King of the Cross” from Cineflix Rights, starring Lincoln Younes (“Barons”) and Tim Roth (“Lie To Me”).
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| Ratings |
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Limited series “Below” achieved the most-viewed debut ever for a Canadian Netflix title, pulling in 17 million views during the first four days after its Oct. 8 debut.
“Love & Marriage: Huntsville,” which will air its 200th episode on Nov. 7, was Saturday’s No. 1 program in all of non-sports primetime TV, according to OWN.
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| Executive Moves |
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The BBC has appointed “Mallorca Files” Executive Producer Ben Donald to a new gig identifying co-production opportunities for scripted projects based on European IP. This is in addition to his current role as the head of Cosmopolitan Pictures, his own independent production studio.
Vice Media has named Shannon Washington president of its Virtue Worldwide creative agency.
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Which “Star Trek Voyager” actor played a minor character with a similar backstory in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” prompting speculation that “Voyager” was meant to include that character instead?
Email answers to Trivia@Cynopsis.com and include your name, company and city/state (don’t forget!). Only the first four correct responses from each time zone will be included.
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YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA ANSWER
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How many separate times was Jack Bauer’s daughter, Kim, as played by Elisha Cuthbert, abducted during the first season of “24” (2001-2010)? Three
Congrats to: Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NY; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA
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