Endemol Beyond’s NewFronts presentation Thursday highlighted plans to launch two new digital-first networks. First is pop culture-focused Looksy and second is Smasher, a sports & gaming network led by digital stars Toby Turner and Jesse Wellens, who have almost 30 million YouTube subscribers between them. Looksy will have plenty of new content, including scripted series Neurotica and reality series True Internet Tales. Smasher will feature international imports Rule’m Sports and Legends of Gaming from Endemol Beyond UK. The company is also launching two new series with ubiquitous rapper Pitbull: MasterClass, which focuses on encouraging viewers to live life to the fullest, and Pitbull Presents, an introduction to a few of the everyday people in Pitbull’s life who are important to him. Pitbull is already involved with Endemol series Gentleman’s Code and The Most Bad Ones. Endemol just signed a deal with American Idol finalist Jessica Sanchez that will have the singer featured in a number of the brand’s series.
Related Stories
Whoopi Goldberg and cast mates will take The Stand on CBS All Access Dec. 17

The Stand, CBS All Access’ television adaptation of the storied 1978 Stephen King novel, will debut December 17. Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, Odessa Young, Jovan Adepo and Amber Heard, the limited series unfolds around King’s apocalyptic struggle between good and evil after a plague destroys most of the country. Ben Cavell serves […]
McKinnon lands unprecedented Exotic deal
Get ready cats and kittens. Joe Exotic (working title), UCP’s limited series starring and exec-produced by Kate McKinnon, scored a straight-to-series order by both the NBCU television and streaming divisions. In an unprecedented move, project will roll out across broadcast net NBC, streamer Peacock, and a basic cable net USA. Series is based on the […]
Cat’s meow: Quaid will star in his own animal rescue story

Dennis Quaid is the cat’s meow. He’s partnering with ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures for unscripted TV project Saving Dennis Quaid, which he’ll star in and exec produce. Project documents the animal lover’s recent headline-making pet rescue where he and partner Jimmy Jellinek set out on a mission to adopt a 6-year-old black cat from Lynchburg, […]
Turner Sports Shaq’s up
Big news at Turner Sports, as the company lands a multiyear extension of its partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s expanded role gains the Basketball Hall of Famer more airtime, including on TNT’s Inside the NBA and NBA on TNT, as well as contributions to NBA.com. He also will develop projects throughout the WarnerMedia portfolio including […]
The Tonys go digital

The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will go on, presented digitally sometime in the fall. Date and platform are TBA. The event had originally been scheduled for June 7, but was replaced by plans for a streaming special on the same date due to COVID-19. That special was postponed amid unrest over the George Floyd […]
CynCity
Cynsiders
The Art of the Edit
For editors working at the highest levels of unscripted television, the job is as much...The New Upfront Playbook
Two of WBD Advertising’s top executives — Ryan Gould, President of Go to Market, and...Meeting Audiences in Motion: On-the-Go Video’s Role in a Fragmented Media Landscape
As streaming fragments audience attention and competition for eyeballs intensifies, entertainment marketers are rethinking where...