FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 2/18/16)
ANIMAL PLANET: River Monsters: Unhooked (Premiere) at 9pm
HISTORY: The Vikings (Premiere) at 10pm
HISTORY: Join or Die With Craig Ferguson (Premiere) at 11pm
BBC AMERICA: London Spy (Finale) at 10pm
Channing Dungey has been named President of ABC Entertainment, replacing Paul Lee. “Channing is a gifted leader and a proven magnet for top creative talent, with an impressive record of developing compelling, breakthrough programming that resonates with viewers,” said Ben Sherwood, President, Disney/ABC Television Group. “We thank Paul for his many accomplishments at ABC and his devotion to the ABC brand.” Dungey, who called Lee a “valued mentor and friend,” was previously EVP, Drama Development, Movies & Miniseries, overseeing development of shows including Scandal, Once Upon a Time and Quantico. With ABC since 2004, Dungey is the first African-American woman to head a broadcast network. Lee’s resignation was characterized by the New York Times as the result of a power struggle with Sherwood.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Unforgettable, canceled by CBS after three seasons then picked up by A&E for a fourth, has been canceled again. The crime drama premiered on cable to 1.12 million viewers and .2 among A18-49 in Live+3 ratings. For those keeping count, it’s actually the show’s third cancellation – CBS yanked the series in May 2012 after its first season, then had a change of heart.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Lifetime ordered ten additional episodes of Bring It!, from Pilgrim Studios. Currently airing Fridays at 9p , Bring It! is cable’s number one series in the time slot among W18-34. The net also picked up season two of The Rap Game, its youngest-skewing series with a median age of 33, from Intuitive Entertainment; season one finale is Friday, February 19 at 10p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
CBC ordered season three of Schitt’s Creek, to premiere in Canada in winter 2017. Season two of the Eugene Levy comedy premieres on Pop Wednesday, March 16.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Romantic comedy Definitely Divorcing premieres on TV One Saturday, February 20 at 8p. Robin Givens (The Perfect Match), Columbus Short (Scandal), Malika Haqq (Keeping Up With The Kardashians) and Golden Brooks (Hollywood Divas) star in the movie about co-workers questioning their marriages.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Colgate Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular, hosted by Olympic skaters Kristi Yamaguchi and Michael Weiss and married gymnasts Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, airs Saturday, February 20 at 3p on ABC.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Long Island Medium goes live in a two-hour event on TLC on Sunday, March 6 at 8p. Theresa Caputo will give celebrity readings, and one viewer will win a private reading with Caputo by tweeting during the broadcast. New series Long Lost Family premieres at 10p, featuring stories of people who yearn for reunions.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Discovery’s Naked and Afraid is back for season two Sunday, March 13 at 10p, with a new crop of extreme survivalists.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season two of Lifetime’s Little Women: Terra’s Little Family debuts Wednesday, March 23 at 10p, followed on Friday, March 25 at 10p by the season two premiere of Atlanta Plastic.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Lisa Bonet (The Cosby Show) will guest on a season-long arc on season four of Showtime’s Ray Donovan, returning later this year. Bonet will play an unstable woman with a dangerous secret.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) will co-star opposite Jason Patric in season two of Fox thriller Wayward Pines. M. Night Shyamalan is exec producing.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Michael Mosley (Sirens), Lindsay Kraft (Getting On) and Michelle Buteau (Key & Peele) are now part of ABC’s Dream Team. Comedy pilot centers on a champion soccer coach who has to deal with a new team of eight-year-olds.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Anna Diop (The Messengers) landed a role in Fox pilot 24: Legacy, the 24 reboot following a military hero who returns to the U.S. and lands in terrorist trouble.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) will co-star in ABC comedy pilot Chunk & Bean, focused on misfit pals.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Jayma Mays (Glee) will play an assistant DA in NBC comedy pilot The Trail, following an oddball legal team.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Kelly Overton (True Blood) landed the lead in Syfy Dracula drama Van Helsing. Also onboard: Jonathan Scarfe (Hell on Wheels), Christopher Heyerdahl (Hell on Wheels), Paul Johansson (Mad Men), David Cubitt (Ray Donovan) and Tim Guinee (Homeland).
(Source: Cynopsis)
Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) will star in Hulu comedy pilot Future Man, from Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, about a janitor who moonlights as a humanity-saving gamer.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The season finale of Discovery’s Killing Fields drew 2.45 million viewers in Live+3 numbers, up 44 percent from its premiere. Among A25-54 the episode delivered 1.3 million, up from 762,000, and was the top unscripted, non-news show on all of cable at 10p in the demo. Fearless prediction: Discovery’s first true-crime series won’t be its last.
(Source: Cynopsis)
As PUT levels declined for a second straight week, the top syndicated strips mostly held steady. Leader Judge Judy was unchanged at 7.8 (but up 7 percent versus last year), top talker Dr. Phil held at 3.3 and Live With Kelly & Michael took a 3 percent dip to 3.1. Number one magazine show Entertainment Tonight held at 3.4, while top game show Wheel of Fortune repeated the prior week’s 7.4 rating.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Opposite the Grammys on Monday (and without a Sunday The Walking Dead lead-in), the season two premiere of AMC’s Better Call Saul delivered a solid 2.57 million viewers and 1.06 rating among A18-49. That’s down 23 percent and 33 percent, respectively, from the series’ 2015 debut, but up in viewership from the 2.53 million for its April finale. If the past is any indication, look for healthy Live+3 boosts.
(Source: Cynopsis)
CBS had the top ten broadcasts over six nights in Live+SD viewing the week ending February 14, a first for any network since Nielsen started reporting Live+SD ratings in 2005. Making the cut (in millions):NCIS (16.94), Big Bang Theory (16.25), Republican debate (13.44) NCIS: New Orleans (12.57), Scorpion (11.36), Blue Bloods (10.92), 60 Minutes (10.42), Madam Secretary (10.06), NCIS: LA (9.75) and Life in Pieces (9.35).
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hallmark Channel wrapped its “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” programming stunt with a 2.3HH rating for Valentine Ever After and 1.9HH for Anything for Love. Over the course of the three week event, all five original movie premieres averaged over 2 million total viewers and reached nearly 9 million unduplicated total viewers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America wrapped its season with an average .8 rating (780,000 impressions) among A25-54 and a .7 rating (210,000 impressions) among A25-34. Both demos saw gains, up 8 percent and 22 percent, respectively, versus year-ago.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Character actor George Gaynes died February 15. He was 98. In addition to roles in films including Tootsie and Police Academy, Gaynes made frequent television appearances, and was a regular on Punky Brewster.
(Source: Cynopsis)
BROADWAY
The Humans opens on Broadway today.
http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/the-humans/
A View From The Bridge opens on Sunday February 21, 2016.
http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/a-view-from-the-bridge/
Keely's Korner 