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Welcome back, Cynopsis readers! Here’s what to know going into the weekend:
- UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy Is “Minded To Intervene” Again
- New York Is Close To Beating Out California In Media Production
- Kelsey Grammer Will Star In A New NBC Series
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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The UK government is “minded to intervene” over Sky’s proposed $2.1 billion acquisition of ITV’s TV networks and streaming assets, according to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
- If that phrasing sounds familiar, it’s because Nandy used similar language in June to describe the now-closed Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery deal. The Competition and Markets Authority ultimately approved the transaction, however.
- What’s different in this case is that both Sky and ITV are based in Britain, which may invite more scrutiny. (Although it’s also worth noting that Sky is currently owned by Comcast and will soon be spun off along with NBCUniversal.) Sky is the largest media company and pay-TV broadcaster in Europe, while ITV is the oldest and largest commercial TV network in the UK.
Yet another nonprofit research organization has determined that Hollywood is backsliding on gender. This time it’s ReFrame, a group founded by Women in Film LA and the Sundance Institute in 2017, which claims in a new report that the number of gender-balanced productions has declined.
- ReFrame awards an annual “ReFrame Stamp” to feature films and scripted TV series that hire women, non-binary, gender non-conforming and trans people in key roles across production. For the 2025-26 season, only 42 of the top 100 TV series qualified, down 3% from the year prior.
- The report also found a noticeable decrease in on-screen representation for these same types of people, mirroring the findings of other reports released this year.
Made in New York: Film and TV production has surged in New York lately, up 87% last quarter compared to California’s 17% uptick. According to ProdPro, scripted film and TV productions spent nearly equal amounts in both states during that quarter, around $1.7 billion in California and $1.6 billion in New York.
- The Hollywood Reporter attributes the surge to two major factors: a 43% increase in soundstage infrastructure since 2020, and a larger number of seasonal broadcast shows set in NYC, such as “Elsbeth,” “Law & Order,” “CIA,” “FBI” and “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” to name just a few.
- To be fair, a 17% increase in California is worth celebrating, too, particularly now that the state has increased tax credit availability and convinced Skydance to keep Paramount’s base of operations there.
The Easterseals Disability Arts & Culture Awards (DARCYS) honored several TV shows in its inaugural ceremony on Saturday for achievements in authentic disability representation, including HBO’s “The Pitt” and the PBS series “Renegades.” Actor Geri Jewell (“The Facts of Life”) also received the first DARCYS legacy award.
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| Partner content |
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| New & Returning Series |
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For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park.
Season 6 of “The Chosen,” a historical drama series from 5&2 Studios about the life of Jesus of Nazareth, will debut three episodes on Prime Video on Nov. 15, followed by weekly releases through December.
“The Madame Blanc Mysteries” is returning to Acorn TV for a fifth, seven-episode season on Nov. 9, concluding with an all-new Christmas special.
Samuel L. Jackson in “Frisco King”
“Frisco King,” the Samuel L. Jackson-led spinoff of Taylor Sheridan’s “Tulsa King,” is hitting Paramount+ with two episodes on Dec. 18.
Peacock’s unscripted series “Nelly and Ashanti: We Belong Together” begins its second season on Nov. 19.
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| Partner content |
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| Today’s Premieres |
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Crunchyroll: “Dreamland”
Hallmark: “’Tis the Season for Setups” at 8 p.m.
Netflix: “LEGO Friends: Heartlake the Musical”; “The Money Trap: The Karun Treasure”
OWN: “What Black Men Say vs. What Black Women Hear With Iyanla Vanzant” at 9 p.m.
Paramount+: “Tulsa King” Season 4
USA: “The Rainmaker” Season 2 at 10 p.m.
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| Saturday’s Premieres |
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Disney+: “Super Scam Me” at 9 p.m.
Great American Family: “Silver Bells at Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story” at 8 p.m.; “Mr. & Mrs. Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “Sins of an Amish Husband” at 8 p.m.
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| Sunday’s Premieres |
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Lifetime: “Amish Revenge” at 8 p.m.
Oxygen: “Snapped: Killer Moms” at 9 p.m.; “The Catfish Murders” at 10 p.m.
PBS: “The Gold” Season 2 at 9 p.m.
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| Production |
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Move over, Dr. Crane. A new Kelsey Grammar show is in development at NBC called “Pops.” The series is based on the true story of Ed Levien, a Maryland man who switched careers and began working as an EMT at age 64. Levien is attached to produce, along with Grammar, “Chicago Med” executive producer Danny Weiss and Jordan McMahon of Grammnet Productions.
Netflix has ordered two new spinoffs from Blumhouse Television and ITV America in its “Worst Ever” true-crime docuseries franchise. “Worst In-Law Ever” and “Worst Friend Ever” are both currently in production, along with a second season of “Worst Neighbor Ever.”
Fandango greenlit its first-ever original TV programming with “Bad Girls: Unfinished Business,” a two-episode reunion event that will air on the company’s free ad-supported streaming platform.
Disney inked another major creator deal, this time with Dude Perfect. The deal includes licensing some of the sports-focused creator company’s existing content and developing new originals inspired by the Super Bowl and the 50th anniversary of “Star Wars.”
Jamie Lee Curtis and Gail Lerner’s upcoming sitcom “Newlyweds” has a new showrunner to replace the recently fired Lerner. Industry veteran Bruce Helford (“The Connors”) will take over when production resumes in November. Lerner was dropped for “creative differences,” according to an Instagram post she shared last Friday.
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| Tech News You Can Use |
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Fox Advertising has expanded its agentic ad-buying capabilities for linear ad transactions, the company announced on Thursday. Major ad agencies WPP Media, Omnicom, Horizon Media and Stagwell, alongside TV ad tech company Simulmedia, now have access to the platform for use in live campaigns. The system is powered by Fox AdStudio, Fox’s data and technology platform.
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| Coming Up |
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The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) will honor Al Pacino with a Life Achievement Award during next year’s 33rd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA (formerly the SAG awards). The event will stream live on Netflix Feb. 28.
Drew Barrymore
The “Pillsbury Bake-Off Classic” (aka the reason it’s called “The Great British Baking Show” in the US) is returning to television with Drew Barrymore as host, CBS announced on Thursday. The special will air Nov. 23 and stream on Paramount+.
On Oct. 21, MTV, VH1, MTV2 and Logo will re-air “The Concert for New York City” for the event’s 25th anniversary, once again in support of the Robin Hood Relief Fund. The original broadcast was staged at Madison Square Garden as a benefit to support New Yorkers after the Sept. 11 attacks.
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| Distribution |
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Disney is continuing to follow in Netflix’s footsteps when it comes to licensing video podcast content. Two Pave Studio programs, “Clues” and “Mother Knows Murder,” will now be available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu for an exclusive time window before going into wide release. So will “Las Culturistas,” the entertainment podcast co-hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.
Meanwhile, over on the other side of the digital-legacy content relationship, the short-form documentary anthology series “POV Shorts” is moving from PBS to the Time Studios YouTube channel for most of its ninth season. The first two films in the series will still air on PBS Nov. 17.
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| Ratings |
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The Weather Channel’s recent TV coverage of Hurricane Isaias reached more than 7.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen data. This made The Weather Channel the No. 1 cable news network among 25-54-year-olds during prime time last Friday.
CBS had a great ratings week. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the network earned the top three ratings spots for “60 Minutes” (10.2 million viewers), “Marshals” (8.21 million viewers) and “Tracker” (7 million viewers). On Tuesday, “NCIS” was the No. 1 show with 6.45 million viewers, and on Thursday, “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” was the No. 1 comedy with 5.5 million viewers.
Top 10 Broadcast Networks for the Week of Oct. 5
P2+ AA (000)
NBC 5,361
CBS 4,152
ABC 4,037
FOX 3,358
Univision 919
Telemundo 910
MeTV 628
ION 468
CW 420
GRIT 324
Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, Live + Same Day
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| Executive Moves |
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Amy DeGregorio has been promoted to EVP of sales and revenue for the Hearst Media Production Group.
The Hollywood Radio & Television Society’s board of directors has elected its latest slate of officers to lead the organization into 2028, including new chairperson Albert Cheng, head of AI Studios at Amazon MGM Studios.
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| In Memoriam |
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Prolific TV writer and producer Bernie Orenstein has died at age 95. He was best known for his work with collaborator Saul Turteltaub on “The New Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show,” “Sanford & Son” and “What’s Happening!!”
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| Friday Fun Fact |
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Traditional Irish jack-o’-lanterns were made not with pumpkins but root vegetables like rutabaga and turnips. (They also looked much creepier.)
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Composer Vic Mizzy wrote the iconic, finger-snapping theme song for what spooky 1965 sitcom?
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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Which “Stranger Things” character serves as Dungeon Master for the kids’ main “Dungeons & Dragons” campaign? Mike Wheeler
Congrats to: Charlie Piazza-Lake 5 Media/NY; Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Melissa Friedman/LA
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