Keely's Korner

Jimmy Kimmel had more than one moment during ABC’s presentations at the TCA summer press tour. First, it was announced the late night host will return to Brooklyn, NY for a week of live shows starting Monday, October 21. This winter, Kimmel will team again with TV icon Normal Lear and exec producers Brent Miller, Will Ferrell and Justin Theroux for a new installment of the “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” a holiday special event; a third special is set for spring 2020 (no surprise there – the All in the Family and The Jeffersons live shows earned an average audience of 10.4 million viewers and 1.8/9 among A18-49). And Kimmel will partner with Mark Burnett to exec produce comedy quiz show Generation Gap.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Other ABC announcements include pickups for The Bachelorette for season 16, and Bachelor in Paradise for season seven…Judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan are returning for a new season of American Idol, and ABC President of Entertainment Karey Burkesaid she’s “hopeful” Ryan Seacrest will be back, too…Summer drama Grand Hotel is on the renewal bubble – and it will stay there a little longer, said Burke. “It’s a show we like a lot. It’s a show that I wish the ratings were a bit stronger but we’ll make that decision after its run,” she said.
(Source: Cynopsis)

ABC’s Karey Burke also addressed allegations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination by former The Rookie star Afton Williamson, who announced in an Instagram post on Sunday that she will not be back for season two. “I am frustrated, I don’t have a lot of answers; I wish I had more,” said Burke during a TCA session. “I heard at the end of June that there were allegations and an investigation has been launched. We are waiting for answers.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

And Burke talked about the future of Grey’s Anatomy, renewed in May for seasons 16 and 17, saying the show will go on as long as creator Shonda Rhimes and star Ellen Pompeo want it to. “They are as deep a part of the fabric of ABC as anyone, and certainly it will be up to them whether they want to continue,” said Burke. “I hope I’m watching with my grandchildren.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

Netflix did not renew mystery drama The OA for season three, but expects to see series creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij again. “We are incredibly proud of the 16 mesmerizing chapters of The OA, and are grateful to Brit and Zal for sharing their audacious vision and for realizing it through their incredible artistry,” said Cindy Holland, VP of Original Content, Netflix. “We look forward to working with them again in the future, in this and perhaps many other dimensions.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

ABC landed the rights to bestseller“Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11.” To commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the events of September 11, the net will develop a limited series based on the book, produced by Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment and executive produced by Erwin Stoff and Richard Abate of 3 Arts, as well as the book’s author, Mitchell Zuckoff.
(Source: Cynopsis)

ABC is also developing anthology series “Women of the Movement” (working title), a chronology of the civil rights movement as told from a black woman’s point of view. The first season centers on Mamie Till, who devoted her life to seeking justice in her son Emmett’s name following his brutal murder in the Jim Crow South. Series is being written by Marissa Jo Cerar(The Handmaid’s Tale) and executive produced by Jay-Z, Jay Brown, Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith(Roc Nation); Will Smith and James Lassiter (Overbrook Entertainment); along with Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor from Kapital Entertainment; Rosanna Grace (Serendipity Film Group); Alex Foster and John Middleton (The Middleton Media Group); and David Clark(Aptitude Entertainment). The anthology series is produced by Kapital Entertainment.
(Source: Cynopsis)

ABC’s The Little Mermaid special, first scheduled for 2017 then put on hold, has now been slated for November 5, to mark the animated film’s 30^th anniversary. Cast of The Wonderful World of Disney Presents: The Little Mermaid Live! Incudes Auli’I Cravalho (Moana) as Ariel, Queen Latifah as Ursula and Shaggy as Sebastian.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Added to the development slate at Quibi: One Night Forever, from Jonathan Abrahams (The Arrangement) and AwesomenessTV. Series focuses on a astrophysics major who works with someone from another planet on her thesis, and the secret of the universe.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Critical Content is teaming with First Media to co-develop unscripted formats for multi-platform distribution. The alliance pairs Critical Content’s creative and production capability with First Media’s marketing reach and POV. “Food and DIY formats play quite well for television and on-demand streaming so it’s a natural step for us to develop content that can leverage our existing and massive audiences in these categories,” said First Media CEO Guy Oranim. “Critical Content makes great TV and knows what hits.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

Science Channel is a debuting a new Wednesday night lineup starting August 7. First up at 9p is the season two premiere of Building Giants; new series Monster Ships, which reveals how the world’s largest vessels operate when crossing dangerous global waters, follows at 10p.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Discovery’s Masters of Disaster has a new premiere date. The docu-series, following a crew of craftsmen who source and restore vintage objects that could be useful in a calamity (turns out whiskey stills can create ethanol), will launch Friday, August 9 on Discovery and Tuesday, August 13 on Science Channel. Original debut date was May 3.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Awwww-full: PBS’s Animal Babies: First Year on Earth debuts Wednesday, August 28 at 8p. In the premiere episode, babies learn to understand their surroundings in environments ranging from Africa to Sri Lanka to Iceland.
(Source: Cynopsis)

The Paley Center for Media will host its 13th annual PaleyFest Fall TV Previews September 5-15 at the Paley Center’s Beverly Hills location. The ten-day festival will feature NBC’s Perfect Harmony; Amazon Prime Video’s Undone; Spectrum Originals’ Mad About You; The CW’s Batwoman and Nancy Drew; Fox’s Almost Family; Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga and Dollface; CBS’s All Rise and Bob ❤ Abishola; TNT’s Chasing the Cure; ABC’s mixed-ish; Nickelodeon’s The Casagrandes; and Netflix’s Disenchantment.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Comedian Alonzo Bodden stars in one-hour stand-up special Alonzo Bodden: Heavy Lightweight, premiering on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 23. The comic talks about a wide range of topics from slavery, cell phones and the #MeToo Movement, to Millennials, Kanye, Taco Bell, “and a little bit about Israel too.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

Nico Tortorella landed a lead role in the so-far-untitled third series from AMC’s The Walking Dead franchise. Tortorella will continue his role on TV Land’s Younger…Bella Dayne (Troy: Fall of a City) has joined the cast of Netflix Arthurian legend series Cursed…Added to the cast of BET’s upcoming White House drama The Oval are Javon Johnson (The Hate U Give), Ptosha Storey (Empire), Vaughn Hebron (Titi Do You Love Me), Teesha Renee (Yes, God, Yes), Lodric Collins (Grimm), Ciera Payton (She’s Gotta Have It), Taja V. Simpson (Boo 2: A Madea Halloween), Walter Fauntleroy (Grey’s Anatomy), Brad Benedict (Castle), Travis Cure(Nocturnal) and Matthew Law (The Paynes)…Rochelle Aytes (Mistresses) and Danika Yarosh(Greenhouse Academy) will recur on season two of USA’s The Purge.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Two-part Happily Ever After? “Tell All,” airing July 21 and July 28, ranked TLC as the #1 cable network on those Sunday nights among P25-54 and W25-54/18-49/18-34, and Happily was the #1 program on cable among P25-54 and W25-54/18-49/18-34 for both nights. Part One was viewed by an average 3.4 million Live+3 P2+ viewers, making it the most watched 90 Day Fiancé franchise episode ever. Part Two earned an average 3.3 million P2+ viewers.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone recorded series high Live+3 ratings on July 31 among P18-49 (1.9), M18-49 (2.0) and M25-54 (2.8). The episode ranked as the #1 entertainment telecast of the night across cable and broadcast, averaging 4.9 million total viewers. The drama also recorded a 2.7 P25-54 L+3 rating, up +11% from the previous week and +7% from the season average.
(Source: Cynopsis)