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| Friday, November 13, 2026 |
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Happy Friday the 13th, readers! Here’s what you need to know this morning:
- New Megamerger Rumors Are Heating Up
- LGBTQ Representation In TV Is Dropping
- The Game Awards Broadcast Is Coming to Disney+
Plus: “Cunk on Cinema” arrives on Netflix this weekend! If you haven’t yet watched the other series in the Philomena Cunk mockumentary franchise, including “Cunk on Earth” and “Cunk on Life,” you owe it to yourself to check them out. -V
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| In The News |
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The entertainment industry is already speculating over what its next big megamerger will be. So far, a lot of analysts and industry insiders think it’ll be Netflix and NBCUniversal, which is due to spin off from Comcast in 2027.
- Comcast insists that it isn’t spinning NBCU and British broadcaster Sky off into their own company to better facilitate a sale. (Although, we heard that from Warner Bros. Discovery last year, and look how that shook out.) But research firm Morningstar estimates that the split-off NBCU could be worth $60 billion – which would be a lot less than what Netflix offered for Warner Bros. last year at $82.7 billion.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Yet another report suggests that TV has gotten a lot less diverse in a very short amount of time.
- This time, the insight comes from GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report, which tracks the number of LGBTQ characters who appear in scripted television series. The latest report found a steep 25% drop in representation, from 489 characters in the 2024-25 season to 369 characters in 2025-26. Of those, 141 characters aren’t returning to television for the 2026-27 season for a number of reasons, including series cancellations and endings.
- Also worth noting: LGBTQ characters of color reached an eight-year low, and the number of trans characters went from 33 to just seven. None of the shows those seven characters appeared on will be continuing into the 2026-27 season, either.
- In speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, GLAAD’s associate director of entertainment research and analysis, Raina Deerwater, theorized that the slowdown may stem from an overall decline in TV production, which may have made executives feel more risk-averse. But it could also be a side effect of the 2024 presidential election, which ushered in a cultural shift among large corporations to forgo diversity and inclusion measures.
- So, will the results of the 2026 midterms cause the pendulum to swing back the other way? It’s certainly possible, especially considering how many LGBTQ-inclusive series – such as “Heated Rivalry” and “Pluribus” – have captured the public’s attention recently.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has called for an emergency meeting of British broadcasting executives to discuss the recent spate of sexual misconduct scandals – among them the allegations against former “Britain’s Got Talent” judge David Walliams, Russell Brand’s conviction and the cancellation of “Married at First Sight UK” amid rape allegations.
- The meeting will likely involve discussion of the whistleblowing service recently launched by the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), a Parliament-recognized bullying and harassment watchdog in the UK formed in the wake of the Noel Clarke scandal.
- There’s speculation that Nandy may require broadcasters to fund CIISA’s whistleblowing service, something she’s considered enacting legislation for in the past.
Who makes the most money on TV? According to Variety, the biggest Hollywood stars are now raking in up to $2 million an episode for their TV gigs, including Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon for “The Morning Show,” Sylvester Stallone for “Tulsa King,” and Chris Pratt for “The Terminal List.” Sources suggest that producing fewer episodes per season allows TV producers to better justify the costs of this kind of talent – and although middle-class actors are taking home less, they’re also able to work on multiple productions at a time.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau hosted its annual “I Want My CTV” event in New York City on Thursday. Among the topics discussed: In a world where more connected TV (CTV) ad buying is focused on performance, is the idea of “premium” inventory a myth?
- Professionally produced content still matters, said David Dworin, chief product officer at media-buying platform Freewheel. But not only has that definition expanded in recent years, it’s ultimately less important than finding content – or, more accurately, audiences – that will fulfill the advertiser’s performance goals.
- After all, “every marketer is a performance marketer,” said Roku Product Innovation Leader Curt Larson. “You’re not spending money for the sake of spending money. You’re spending money to create some sort of outcome. And when that outcome is far in the future or very difficult to measure, you call yourself a brand marketer.”
- The Takeaway: Of course every advertiser would love to see their commercial appear during a huge TV show or sporting event – but increasingly, they need to be able to justify the amount they spend, and sometimes more niche programming helps them reach their audience more directly. (Provided, of course, that they can prove the reach occurred.)
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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.
“She’s Fine,” the Apple TV comedy series starring Elizabeth Banks, will premiere on Jan. 27.
AMC+ debuted the trailer for “Mix Tape,” a romantic drama starring Teresa Palmer (“A Discovery of Witches”) and Jim Sturgess (“Home Before Dark”). The series makes its US premiere Dec. 10.
NBC set a premiere date for a massive crossover event with “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Fire” on Jan. 13.
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| Today’s Premieres |
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Apple TV: “12 12 12”; “Snoopy Presents: 12 Days of Snoopy”
Hallmark: “My Christmas Cowboy” at 8 p.m.
HBO Max: “Clangold”; “Maniacs of the Truth”
Nat Geo: “Expedition: Saving Our Seas” at 9 p.m.
Netflix: “Murder in Galicia”; “Stars and Vows: Anele & Buzza”
Paramount+: “American Mayhem”
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| Saturday’s Premieres |
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Disney+: “A Proud Family Wizmas”
Great American Family: “The Christmas Yes List” at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “The Nights Before Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “One Last Shot” at 8 p.m.
Oxygen: “Homicide for the Holidays” Season 6 at 10 p.m.
Paramount+: “2026 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards” at 8 p.m.
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| Sunday’s Premieres |
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Great American Family: “Christmas at Moose Lake”
Hallmark: “Mistletoe and Mimosas” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “In Another Life” at 8 p.m.
Netflix: “Cunk on Cinema”
Prime Video: “The Chosen”
The Design Network: “Fame to Table” Season 2 at 9 p.m.
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| Production |
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Netflix greenlit a new Korean period drama, “The Twilight Between Us.” The series stars Gang Dong-won (“Tempest”) and Kim Go-eun (“Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”) as nobles from two warring families who are forced to marry one another by royal decree. Kim Won-seok (“My Mister”) and Park Ji-eun (“Legend of the Blue Sea”) are attached to direct and write the series, respectively.
Alix Earle
Influencer Alix Earle will return to Netflix with another season of her reality series “Earle Meets World.” The first season premiered in September this year and reached 2.3 million viewers by its second week.
Peacock greenlit a TV adaptation of “Before I Let Go,” a romance novel by Kennedy Ryan. The series will star Teyonah Parris (“WandaVision”) and Danielle Brooks (“Peacemaker”). Attica and Tembi Locke (“From Scratch”) will serve as showrunners and writers for the series, which was created by Ryan and Malcolm D. Lee (“Girls Trip”).
Paramount+ has ordered a new sports comedy series titled “Day 1s,” about a young soccer star who joins the Premier Football League. The series is produced by director Matthew Vaughn (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”), Premier League founder Darren Dein and soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Actor Damian Lewis (“Billions”) is also slated to star and executive produce.
Production has started on Season 7 of the BBC cop drama “Line of Duty.” Despite airing five years ago, the Season 6 finale still holds the record for the most-watched British drama episode with 15.2 million consolidated viewers.
NBC News announced the cancellation of “Stay Tuned,” a primetime show on its NBC News Hour streaming service. Although anchor Gadi Schwartz will remain with the company, NBC is also eliminating a number of positions across its news unit.
The hit “Love Trapped” podcast, which chronicles the story of Arizona woman Laura Owens attempting to entrap “The Bachelor” star Clayton Echard with paternity fraud, will be adapted into a four-part documentary series by Peacock.
“Caught in the Act: Unfaithful” was renewed for a fifth season on MTV.
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| Coming Up |
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The Game Awards, an annual video game industry awards show, will stream on Disney+ for the first time this year. The ceremony airs on Dec. 10 and will still be available to stream on YouTube and Twitch as well.
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| Sports Report |
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Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum will join Prime Video’s NBA coverage as a player contributor for the 2026-27 season. He will make his premiere in “NBA Nightcap” tonight.
ESPN and motorcycle racing championship MotoGP announced a multiyear broadcast agreement that will give ESPN exclusive broadcasting rights in the US and Latin America through 2028.
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| Executive Moves |
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Barbara Broccoli, whose family established and still co-owns the James Bond franchise, will be the next president of the UK’s National Film and Television School. She is the first woman to hold the title.
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| In Memoriam |
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NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks died Wednesday of an acute illness at 64. Hicks was best known for his coverage of NBC’s Olympics and golf broadcasts, as well as the US Open, the Ryder Cup, the NFL, the NBA and Notre Dame football. He was meant to be the play-by-play announcer for Saturday’s Notre Dame-Boston College game, which “Sunday Night Baseball” announcer Jason Benetti will call it instead.
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| Friday Fun Fact |
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No body has ever been recovered from the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, although one was discovered (and left underwater) by divers in 1994.
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What is the name of the pop punk band that wrote the instrumental theme song for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2001)?
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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Tom’s Restaurant in NYC, located on Broadway and 112th, is an iconic exterior location in which ‘90s sitcom? “Seinfeld”
Congrats to: Greg Puga-Covenant Entertainment/Aventura, FL; Cosmo Dascher-Kennesaw State University/Atlanta, GA; Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Networks/NYC; Andrew Marcus-Clear Channel Outdoor/NYC; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago, IL; Judy Margolis-The Barber Shop Marketing/Dallas, TX; Andi Leston-Outdoor Sportsman Group/Waukesha, WI; Aaron Paquette-AccelerateSG/Fort Worth, TX; Dave Sikula-San Francisco State University/San Francisco, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Michael Coscia/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA
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