NBCUniversal and strategic partner BuzzFeed have teamed for Playfull, a millennial parenting channel (target audience: 20-34). Buzzfeed will create videos for Playfull, launched yesterday on Facebook, while NBCUni oversees ad sales and business partnerships; marketing support will include ads during NBC’s Winter Olympics. NBCUniversal has a $400 million investment in Buzzfeed.
Schwarzenegger boards Amazon project
Amazon is developing 2 Conan-related drama series, reports Deadline. One is Outrider, an event series set in late 1800s Oklahoma Indian territory, with Conan the Barbarian star Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to star and exec produce. The other is based on the Conan books by Robert E. Howard, from Ryan Condal (Colony), Miguel Sapochnik (Game of […]
NBC’s playing Games with Dwayne Johnson
NBC is teaming with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia to produce large-scale physical competition series The Titan Games, emceed by Johnson. Someone’s thinking big: for the 10-episode series from Universal Television Alternative Studio, A. Smith & Co. Productions and Seven Bucks Productions, “We wanted to create a new kind of athletic competition unlike anything ever […]
HGTV’s Property Brothers stay in the house
Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott signed a new exclusive multi-year deal with HGTV. As executive producers at Scott Brothers Entertainment, producer of content for TV, film and digital platforms, the brothers’ production company also will develop exclusive home-related series and digital content in partnership with the network’s programming and creative teams.
ABC snaps up Longoria’s soapy new pilot
ABC snapped up two more pilots. Soapy drama Grand Hotel, from Eva Longoria and writer Brian Tanen (Desperate Housewives) and based on the Spanish format; and comedy Three Rivers, from Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer, creators of I Hate My Teenage Daughter. Both hail from ABC Studios.
Bruckheimer goes big, with pilots in the works at CBS, NBC
It’s a wrap on CBS’ pilot orders, with the network picking up four additional titles: military courtroom drama The Code, exec-produced by Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman; L.A. Confidential, based on the noir novel and exec-produced by Arnon Milchan; Main Justice, exec-produced by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Jerry Bruckheimer; and racially charged […]
CBS and Viacom set up committees to explore merger
CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. both announced their boards of directors have established committees to evaluate a potential combination. “There can be no assurance that this process will result in a transaction or on what terms transactions may occur,” said both companies in separate releases, adding they will not comment further until the process is […]
Don’t mess with Mika
“Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff found himself on the defensive on yesterday’s Morning Joe. Wolff’s suggestion during an appearance last month on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher that President Trump had an affair with someone in his administration led to UN Ambassador Nikki Haley’s denial last week of the “disgusting” rumor; asked about […]
Katherine Heigl joins USA’s Suits
Also tasked with replacing a star – but for very different reasons – was USA’s Suits, as Meghan Markle left Hollywood for Prince Harry. Now Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) has been cast in a new series regular role for season 8. She won’t have much catching up to do. “I have watched Suits from the […]
Galecki’s SciJinks slated for spring
SciJinks, a science prank show hosted by Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki, will launch on Discovery and Science Channel this spring. “I am humbled and excited to work closely on this show with some of the scientists and STEM students I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the past decade,” said Galecki, who is also […]
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