Hallmark Channel’s
A Merry Scottish Christmas
#1 Cable Movie in 2023
with W18-49, W25-54, W18+, P18-49, P25-54, P18+, P2+ & HHs
***No Qualifiers***

Merry Thanksgiving Weekend Kicks Off Tomorrow
7 All-New Original Movie Premieres!

Often Imitated. Never Duplicated.
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Wednesday November 22, 2023

Thursday’s Premieres
Nat Geo: Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin at 8p
Netflix: My Daemon; My Little Pony: Make Your Mark; Love Island USA
Sundance Now: The Flight Attendant Murders

Friday’s Premieres
Hallmark: Holiday Road at 8p
ID: Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals at 9p
Netflix: My Demon; A Nearly Normal Family; Ololade; Replacing Chef Chico
Oxygen: The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre at 8p
Prime Video: LOL

Friday’s Finale
Apple TV+: Lessons in Chemistry

Saturday’s Premiere
Disney+: Doctor Who

Sunday’s Premieres
ABC: The Great Christmas Light Fight at 10p
Adult Swim: Aqua Teen Hunger Force at 11:30p
Hulu: Faraway Downs

Sunday’s Finale
HGTV: Unsellable Houses at 9p

IN THE NEWS

X is suing Media Matters for defamation, accusing the watchdog group of driving away advertisers. “Media Matters knowingly and maliciously manufactured side-by-side images depicting advertisers’ posts on X Corp.’s social media platform beside Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist fringe content and then portrayed these manufactured images as if they were what typical X users experience on the platform,” reads the complaint. X owner Elon Musk had warned of a “thermonuclear lawsuit” after major brands paused advertising in the wake of the Media Matters report, as well as Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post.

FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel has a proposal viewers of cable and satellite TV should appreciate: prohibiting early termination fees. Rosenworcel also wants MVPDs to provide rebates to customers who cancel a subscription before the end of a month for which they have paid. “No one wants to pay junk fees for something they don’t want or can’t use,” said Rosenworcel. “When companies charge customers early termination fees, it limits their freedom to choose the service they want.” A vote on the measure is scheduled for the commission’s December public meeting.

“NCIS: Sydney” has broken streaming records for Paramount+. The Australian leg of the franchise – and first international spinoff for a CBS Studios drama series – made its debut on November 14 and has reached nearly 10 million total viewers across CBS and Paramount+, almost double the live and same-day audience that the episode managed. The series is currently the most-streamed CBS network premiere ever on Paramount+.

October may have been light on new scripted programming due to the Hollywood strikes, but TV usage increased 2% from September, reported Nielsen. Broadcast TV usage was up 9.4%. Live sports gets much of the credit, accounting for nearly 30% of broadcast viewership. Year-over-year, broadcast viewership was down 4.6%. Cable viewership inched up 0.9% in October, assisted by a 19% increase in sports viewing and a 17% rise in news viewing. Year over year, cable usage was down 5.6%.

“Top Gear” will not return for the “foreseeable future.” The BBC series has been off the air since host Andrew Flintoff suffered “life-alteringly significant” injuries following a crash. The BBC put out a statement that it has “decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future,” due to “exceptional circumstances.”

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Cynopsis’ 2023 Holiday Guide is HERE! Looking for when to catch your favorites on cable? Browse the guide (with listings from now through Jan. 1, 2024) to make sure you won’t miss out on the ho-ho-holiday hits.

FOLLOW THE GUIDE HERE

“Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin has signed a multi-year overall deal with Netflix. The agreement covers scripted series and feature films, overseen by Jinny Howe, VP of drama series at the streamer.

Haas Formula 1 Racing Team Principal Guenther Steiner will star in a new CBS comedy. The as-yet-untitled workplace series is set in the world of sports, with a “Steineresque” boss at the helm. Steiner, a fan favorite due to his appearances in Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” will serve as a non-writing executive producer on the project.

“Black Mirror” is back. Charlie Brooker’s dystopian series returned with new episodes this year after a four-year hiatus. The seventh season is expected to begin production later this year.

The bidding war for Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese’s “Cape Fear” series has begun. The drama thriller is the first collaboration between the Oscar-winning directors, who will executive produce the project from creator, EP and showrunner Nick Antosca, Amblin Television and UCP.

Disney+ canceled “The Muppets Mayhem” after one season. From “The Goldbergs” creator Adam F. Goldberg, the ten-part series starring Lilly Singh was released in May.

Prime Video greenlit coming-of-age drama “Motorheads.” Starring Ryan Phillippe, Nathalie Kelly, Michael Cimino and Melissa Collazo, the series from writer-showrunner John A. Norris and EP Jason Seagraves centers on a group who find friendship over a mutual love of automobiles. “‘Motorheads’ is a gripping story, anchored around the series of ‘firsts’ that accompany young adulthood,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD originals, unscripted and targeting programming at Amazon MGM Studios.

Sony Pictures Television – Kids announced the third and final season of “Hilda.” This season, Hilda returns to uncover mysterious truths about herself, embarking on a train journey outside of Trolberg to face the heroes of Old and endure a family journey. The animated series returns to Netflix on December 7.

Amazon MGM ordered a pilot based on the “Charlie Bone” novels. The series by British author Jenny Nimmo, published between 2002-2010, follow a “problem” kid who is haunted by “The Noise.” Joseph Fiennes, Carmen Ejogo, Emma Sidi, Orlando Norman and more star.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

“Fatal Family Feuds” premieres Saturday, December 2 at 9p. Oxygen’s newest series examines what happens when the ties that bind become the ties that divide.

Fox announced shared its midseason schedule. On the way are new series “The Floor” (January 2), “We Are Family” (January 3) and a special preview of “Grimsburg” (January 7). Returning series “I Can See Your Voice” premieres on January 3, “The Great North” debuts January 7, “TMZ Investigates” arrives January 22, “America’s Most Wanted” goes live on January 22, “Next Level Chef” kicks off on January 28 and “Farmer Wants a Wife” hits screens on February 1.

Nine young culinary contestants compete in “MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays.” In the two-night event, judges Gordon Ramsay, his daughter Tilly, Aarón Sánchez and Daphne Oz will crown a winner, who takes home a $25k prize, a Viking Kitchen package and a MasterChef snow globe trophy. The special airs Sunday, December 10 at 8p and Monday, December 11 at 8p.

“The Way Home” returns on January 21. Andie MacDowell, Chyler Leigh, Evan Williams and more are back to star in season two of the Hallmark series. “The first season of ‘The Way Home’ exceeded all of our expectations on every level,” said EVP of Programming at Hallmark Media Lisa Hamilton Daly. “The hard work of our talented writers, cast and entire crew gave viewers a compelling family drama they instantly became invested in and created a passionate fan base that grew with each and every episode.”

Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack star in “The Woman in the Wall.” Premiering on Paramount+ on January 19, the six-episode drama series centers on woman who wakes up one morning to find a corpse in her house. “The Woman in the Wall” is produced by Motive Pictures for SHOWTIME and the BBC.

COMING UP

Magnolia Network rings in the holidays with “Holiday Party with Andrew and Zoë.” The hour-long special features Andrew Zimmern (“Family Dinner”) and Zoë François (“Zoë Bakes”) as they host a mashup Christmas-Hanukkah party for friends in their hometown of Minneapolis. The special is set to premiere Sunday, December 3.

90 minutes of “60 Minutes” on Sunday follows Ukrainian families grieving the loss of their loved ones in the continued conflict. Correspondent Scott Pelley joins a group of widows and children of the war on a mountain climb in the Austrian Alps. The episode premieres at 7:30p on CBS.

STREAMING

DAZN and LG have announced the launch of a new FAST channel. DAZN TV will give fans access to boxing, MMA and international soccer, including live undercards, before the bell, and more than 300 hours of archival content. Said Norm Lem, SVP of Revenue, Canada, at DAZN Group, “This highlights our commitment to provide frictionless sports entertainment to passionate fans, anytime, anywhere.”

Hulu has two Black Friday promotions. Until Tuesday, November 28, new and eligible returning subscribers can sign up to the streamer’s ad-supported plan for $0.99 per month for one year. Additionally, new and existing eligible subscribers can sign up for the STARZ add-on for $0.99 per month for six months.

Max celebrates the holidays with “Holiday Central.” The collection features a variety of holiday-inspired series, films and more. Starting December 1, the streamer will feature an interactive advent calendar entitled “Unwrap New Presents Every Day,” showcasing different holiday programming on the platform each day.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

ACC Football delivered the CW’s largest primetime audience in more than six years. Saturday’s primetime game between Florida State and North Alabama drew 1.3 million total viewers, ranking the network within the Top Four in broadcast prime in key demos for the night.

The Georgia-Tennessee game scored 5.73 million viewers on CBS. Michigan-Maryland drew 5.43 million people on Fox and Washington-Oregon State came in third on ABC with 4.73 million viewers.

“The Crown” continues its reign on Netflix. The first half of the show’s final season debuted Thursday, November 16, reaching 11.1 million views its first few days to claim the No. 1 spot on the English-language TV charts for the week. The second half of the season drops December 14. Matt Rife’s stand-up special, “Natural Selection,” took second place with 7.4 million views in its debut week and David Fincher film “The Killer” took first place overall for the third consecutive week with 22.3 million views.

Basic Cable Top 10 Ratings for the week of November 13
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
ESPN 2213
FOX News 1839
MSNBC 1413
HGTV 738
HISTORY 703
TBS 661
Food Network 634
INSP 597
USA 595
Total Day
FOX News 1229
ESPN 864
MSNBC 833
Hallmark 673
CNN 456
HGTV 402
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 363
Food Network 358
TBS 344
HISTORY 323
Source: Nielsen

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Fox has hired Google executive Rachel Berk. As the new SVP of distribution, platform partnerships, Berk will manage partnerships for company brands across connected Tv services, including Tubi.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who hosted Mindy for Thanksgiving on season one of “The Mindy Project” (2012-17)? Gwen. Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./New York, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank, CA, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
What did Lorelai and Rory bring as gifts to Thanksgiving dinners in “Gilmore Girls” (2000-2007)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)

Cynopsis Team