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Hope you all had a pleasant weekend, readers! Here’s what’s in today’s issue:
- What Do Netflix And The White House Have In Common? Shocking Layoffs
- ‘True Detective’ Lands Its New True Detectives
- “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket” Finds Its Groove
Also: Join us Nov. 4 at The Lighthouse in NYC to celebrate this year’s Cynopsis Top Women in Media honorees, representing the full spectrum of leadership across media, entertainment and advertising. Get your tickets now!
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| In The News |
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As first reported by Puck on Thursday afternoon, after 10 years at Netflix – and just days after being part of the keynote conversation at MIPCOM – Bela Bajaria is leaving her role as Netflix’s chief content officer, to be replaced by former Fox and Disney executive Peter Rice.
- The news has shocked the industry, with many suggesting Bajaria is serving as a scapegoat for other problems with the business. “People always blame the content,” one source told Variety, “but you don’t lay off 1,000 people unless there’s a big problem with the business model.”
Katie Zacharia is already out as White House press secretary after only five days on the job (which is roughly half as long as the next-shortest tenure of a Trump press appointee, Anthony Scaramucci). Her first and only televised press briefing took place on Oct. 13 and lasted roughly 14 minutes.
Netflix isn’t the only company getting hit by layoffs. Ricochet, the British indie production studio responsible for “The Repair Shop,” also lost roughly a third of its overall staff last week. Although Ricochet is owned by Skydance UK, the cuts were decided before the recent Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger closed, according to a Ricochet spokesperson.
Don’t count linear out yet. Marcus Arthur, BBC Studios’ chief executive of global channels and streaming, recently told Deadline that although he feels streaming is the company’s future, linear will still be an important profit-builder for “the next five to 10 years.”
- So why does linear get such a bad rap? According to Arthur, it’s because many other companies in the space are more beholden to shareholders and tend to split their linear and streaming businesses as a way to prioritize growth. The BBC, by comparison, does not have those same concerns.
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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.
Kevin Hart’s adult animated series, “Lil Kev,” will premiere all 10 episodes of its second season on Paramount+ Dec. 9.
Tubi announced the launch of a new variety series called “The Anania Show,” starring titular creator and “Gaydar” host Anania Williams. The show will begin streaming on Nov. 23.
“The Remarried Empress,” the Korean romantic fantasy series based on a popular Webtoon comic of the same name, will premiere on Disney+ and Hulu with a four-episode debut on Nov 4.
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| Today’s Premieres |
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Prime Video: “Love in Disguise”
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| Production |
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“True Detective” will star both Nicolas Cage (“Spider-Noir”) and Antonio Banderas (“Genius”) as the leading duo for the HBO anthology series’ fifth season. “True Detective: Night Country” showrunner Issa López is also returning for the new season, which will be set in Jamaica Bay, New York.
Add another YA sports drama to the list. Prime Video is producing “Rally” by showrunner and writer Julie Plec (“The Vampire Diaries”), about teens at a competitive tennis academy. The series will also be executive produced by tennis legend Andre Agassi.
Jude Law (“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”) will play Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly in a new biopic series from A24. The show is written by Jack Thorne (“Adolescence”).
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| Sports Report |
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Scripps Sports Network, a free ad-supported streaming network owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, is launching a new original series by “The Makeshift Project” creators Zach Misischia and Brian Conforth. Called “Total Replay with the Makeshift Project,” the series will air as 10 half-hour episodes with guest appearances by athletes and celebrities. Hour-long versions will then be available on the Scripps Sports YouTube channel the next day. Episode premieres on Oct. 21.
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| Production |
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Last Tuesday’s Super Bowl halftime-inspired edition of “Dancing With the Stars” achieved the show’s best ratings for a non-finale episode in more than nine years among 18-to-49-year-olds, drawing 6.59 million live and same-day viewers.
“Wonka’s The Golden Ticket” is gaining momentum. The Netflix competition series garnered just under 1.08 billion minutes of watch time in its second week, pushing it to the top spot on Nielsen’s top 10 streaming list for the week of Sept. 28. “East of Eden,” which premiered on Oct. 1, finished in second with 782 million minutes.
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What was the title of the short-lived 2012 spinoff of “Bones” (2005-2017), featuring actor Geoff Stults as a retired Army major who can find anything thanks to a traumatic brain injury?
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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Composer Vic Mizzy wrote the iconic, finger-snapping theme song for what spooky 1965 sitcom? “The Addams Family”
Congrats to: Andrew Marcus-Clear Channel Outdoor/NY; Jackie Howell-Nexstar WCMH-TV/Columbus, OH; Samantha Salvatore-the WNET Group/NY; Brianne Maciejowski-BZM Producing/Sarasota, FL; Sam Lawson-Stardog Productions/Omaha, NE; Creed Heilskov-ImOn Communications/Cedar Rapids, IA; Adam Leston-Weigel Broadcasting/Milwaukee, WI; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago, IL; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; ED Horwitz-Witz End Productions, Inc/Hollywood, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Sandra Mueller-KTLA/LA
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