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Happy Friday, readers! Here’s the news you need to know as you wrap up your week:
- “The Pitt” Will Go To Court Over Similarities To “ER”
- “The Voice” Gets A TikTok Live Companion Show
- “Off Campus” Season 2 Premiere Date Defies The Laws Of Streaming
Now that the midterm elections are over, trailers and show announcements are flying in from all sides, including a docuseries on “looksmaxxing.” And look for a star-studded Dolly Parton tribute at this year’s CMA Awards.
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| In The News |
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Noah Wyle in “The Pitt”
“The Pitt” heads to the courtroom. A three-judge panel unanimously declined to dismiss charges brought against the show by Michael Crichton’s widow, Sherri, who says that failed negotiations to resurrect the juggernaut “ER” led to the show’s inception.
- “ER” co-creator Crichton’s original deal included a “frozen rights” provision requiring his approval for the studio to create spin-offs or reboots.
- Warner Bros. argued that the suit was filed before “The Pitt” premiered, which meant there would be no accurate way to determine if the show was derivative of its predecessor.
- “ER” vets (and “The Pitt” executive producers) Noah Wyle, John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill have all been dropped from litigation, although they could turn up on the witness list when the case goes to trial.
Don’t bet on it. Hollywood is putting its foot down when it comes to prediction markets. In an expansion of the rules around insider trading, studios and production companies are issuing new guidelines, worried that many are already cashing in on insider knowledge.
- Employees are prohibited from betting on anything considered Hollywood news, like studio earnings, castings, award nominations, and production and release dates.
- One (unnamed) company has already set up a hotline where people can anonymously report on colleagues suspected of placing bets or sharing information with others who might profit from it.
CBC News will be launching its new slate of original content around personal finance and other money matters. CBC Money will arrive early next year, and cover financial content important to Canadians, with reporters stationed in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax.
Following its acquisition of Sony Entertainment’s Pixomondo virtual production stage at Pinewood Toronto Studios, Dark Slope has unveiled plans to open a new virtual production stage in Vancouver. “Star Trek” fans will feel this one keenly, as the virtual stage comes from recently canceled shows “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” as well as “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
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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.
Prime Video released a teaser trailer for “Criminal.” Based on the graphic novel series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, the new series features an “interlocking universe” of crime stories and stars Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”), Gus Halper (“Rustin”), Luke Evans (“The Party”) and Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”). Episodes 1-4 premiere on Jan. 13.
Coming sooner: Also coming from Prime Video, Season 2 of the hugely popular “Off Campus” will be arriving on April 28, 2027. In a rarity for streaming series, the second season will premiere less than a year after the series premiere on May 13, sped along by the fact that the renewal came in before Season 1 started streaming.
Coming home: The trailer for the fourth and final season of “Yellowjackets” just dropped, featuring an intense version of Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.” The season premiere lands Nov. 20 on Showtime/Paramount+ with Premium and will see the beleaguered soccer team get rescued and return home.
It only took 46 years. NBC’s “The Rockford Files,” a reboot of the 1970s show with James Garner, will premiere on Saturday, Jan. 2 following the NFL playoff game, then continue to air on Thursdays. David Boreanaz (“Bones”) stars.
Hulu dropped the trailer for the docuseries “Get Huge: Looksmaxxing to Death,” directed by Stacey Lee, about the “underground movement [that] promises to unlock human potential with bulging muscles, bigger penises and eternal youth.” All three episodes arrive on Nov. 10.
Filmmaker and viral hoax artist Oobah Butler (“Catfish UK”) will “infiltrate the worlds of wine, wellness, royalty, and more” in HBO’s “Scams for a Better Tomorrow,” premiering on Nov. 22 at 11 p.m.
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| Today’s Premieres |
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Apple TV: “Awkwafina: the Unlikely Cook”
CMT: “The Last Cowboy” Season 7 at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “Merry Memories” at 8 p.m.
Food Network: “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” Season 57 at 9 p.m.
HBO Max: “Melania Rea”
Hulu: “12 Days of Christmas”
Lifetime: “My Son’s Sugar Momma” at 8 p.m.
Nat Geo: “Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory” at 9 p.m.
Netflix: “Under Siege”; “Unprotected: Murder in Galicia”
Paramount+: “It Gets Worse”
Prime Video: “Campus Drivers,” “Devil’s Crest”
UP: “Chocolate for Christmas” at 8 p.m.
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| Saturday’s Premieres |
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IFC: “Cue the Laughs” at 10 p.m.
Great American Family: “Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring” at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “Holiday Unplugged” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “Paradise With You” at 8 p.m.
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| Sunday’s Premieres |
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Great American Family: “An Ozark Mountain Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Food Network: “Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas” Season 2 at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “A Season of Promises” at 8 p.m.
HBO Max: “City of God: The Fight Rages On” Season 2
Lifetime: “The Road Back to Us” at 8 p.m.
MGM+: “The Institute” Season 2 at 9 p.m.
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| Production |
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Carson Daly has been named co-anchor of NBC’s “Saturday Today,” which will not interfere with his ongoing duties as weekday co-host of “Today” and host of “The Voice.”
Speaking of “The Voice,” it’s about to get its first-ever TikTok Live companion show starting Nov. 9. Josh “Bru” Brubaker will host. The show will stream 20 minutes before “The Voice” goes live and feature artists and coaches along with rotating celebrity co-hosts and live glimpses of backstage drama, and will be part of the weekly rollout through the season finale on Dec. 30.
Hot off “VisionQuest,” Paul Bettany has been cast as the lead opposite Steven Yeun (“The Walking Dead”) in “Pagans,” a new supernatural drama from Netflix. Logan Kim will play Yeun’s son, as he also did on “The Walking Dead.”
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| Tech News You Can Use |
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Happy earnings season! Sell-side advertising platform Magnite reported third-quarter earnings this week, and it’s no surprise that streaming TV took center stage. Magnite announced that connected TV revenue rose 39% year over year, with the channel now comprising 53% of the business. Among other highlights, Magnite touted its progress shifting ad transactions to AI agents, including for newer ad formats such as home screen ads, which are historically difficult to automate because they vary widely across streaming platforms.
In other earnings updates, MNTN (“mountain”), a platform designed to help performance marketers place streaming ads, reported third-quarter revenue growth of 15% to $80.3 million. That growth percentage may sound promising, but it missed company guidance (between $86 million and $89 million). Tony Weisman, MNTN’s new president, CEO and director, acknowledged these results were disappointing and chalked it up to a failed go-to-market execution related to a sales team reshuffle that “did not work out.” MNTN reaffirmed its strategic focus on performance and lower-funnel business outcomes for streaming TV advertising.
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| Coming Up |
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Dolly Parton performing in Rhode Island in 2019
We will always love you. The 60th annual Country Music Association Awards will include a special tribute to the late great Dolly Parton. Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, the Red Clay Strays, Zach Top and Tucker Wetmore will perform during the ceremony, which airs on Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+.
Chris Pratt (“The Terminal List”) is about to get slimed: He’ll be receiving the King of Comedy Award at the Kids’ Choice Awards on CBS and Nickelodeon on Nov. 14. There are three new categories this year: Watch Party: Kids’ Choice, Favorite Onscreen Duo/Trio and Favorite Clutch Player of the Year. Other guests have yet to be announced, but nominees include Taylor Swift, bestie Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande.
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| Sports Report |
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FloSports is teaming up with Corrigan Sports to bring men’s and women’s NCAA programs to FloLacrosse, its dedicated platform for lacrosse events, beginning in March.
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| Distribution |
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Streaming media company Stingray is launching multiple free ad-supported TV channels in the United Arab Emirates, offering music, moodscapes, wellness, stargazing, and visuals from across the world.
Philo announced it’s adding NBCUniversal’s Bravo network to its channel lineup.
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| Ratings |
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The final election ratings are in, and Fox News did better than originally projected with 4.3 million prime-time viewers, the network reported. That’s now higher than CNN (4.1 million) and MS Now (3.7 million) but still behind NBC News (6.7 million) and ABC News (5.2 million). CBS News still trailed at 2.7 million viewers.
According to Nielsen, roughly 31.2 million people watched prime-time coverage of the midterm elections, up from 25.4 million in 2022.
During the week of Oct. 19, Netflix proved it made the right decision to acquire the first three seasons of sci-fi/horror series “From.” The show shot straight to the No. 1 spot on Nielsen’s streaming chart with 1.65 billion minutes across 30 available episodes. Coming in at No. 2 overall and No. 1 among originals was Season 4 of Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” which added more than 200 million minutes week-over-week (up 21%) to score 1.19 billion minutes. Other series making their way up the charts include Season 2 of Prime Video’s “The Terminal List” (830 million minutes) and Peacock’s “Crystal Lake” (790 million minutes).
 
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| Executive Moves |
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Sports entertainment platform DAZN has appointed Eric Welles as EVP of North American Ad Sales. He was most recently at Sinclair.
LG Ad Solutions, LG’s advertising arm, has hired Abhijit Pol as SVP of product and engineering.
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| Friday Fun Fact |
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Today, Nov. 6, is National Marooned Without a Compass Day, which can be observed both literally and figuratively.
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On “Parenthood” (2010-15), what future multi-hyphenate showrunner played Marleise, an aggrieved neighbor of The Luncheonette?
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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What is the name of the (fictional) fourth Hemsworth brother whom Tahani Al-Jamil dates on and off again in “The Good Place” (2016-20)? Larry Hemsworth
Congrats to: Phyllis McQuillian-MSG Networks/NY; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA;
Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA
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