FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (MONDAY 12/16/19)
NBC: Holidays With The Houghs (Premiere) at 10pm
ID: The Night That Didn’t End (Premiere) at 9pm
TRAVEL CHANNEL: It Feels Evil (Premiere) at 10pm
VH1: Love & Hip Hop: New York (Premiere) at 8pm
ABC: The Great Christmas Light Fight (Premiere) at 8pm
NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke is planning to step down next year, according to multiple reports. His contract expires in August. Jeff Shell, Chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, is the frontrunner to succeed Burke, who was named CEO in 2011. Revenue nearly doubled, to $35.9 billion by 2018, under Burke’s watch.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC canceled summer series Reef Break after one 13-episode season. Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) was star and executive producer of the crime drama, which averaged 2.85 million viewers in Live+3 Nielsens and an 0.4 rating among A18-49.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hallmark Channel drew fire first for running commercials featuring a same-sex couple kissing, then for pulling the ad. Last week, conservative group One Million Moms started a petition urging the net to reconsider airing commercials from wedding website Zola that included same-sex couples. After Hallmark obliged, #BoycottHallmarkChannel started trending on Twitter . “The debate surrounding these commercials on all sides was distracting from the purpose of our network, which is to provide entertainment value,” said Hallmark parent Crown Media Family Networks in a statement.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bridges, a Latina family comedy from writer Aaron Serna (Mr. Iglesias), Jaime Davila’s Campanario Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television landed a script commitment with penalty from ABC. Story centers on a multi-generational Texas family.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Animated series The Andy Cohen Diaries joins Quibi’s programming slate. Series features Cohen recounting stories from his daily life. The short-form mobile video platform is set to debut in April 2020.
(Source: Cynopsis)
In more Quibi news, GMA’s Keke Palmer will co-host Singled Out with Joel Kim Booster. MTV’s reimagined dating show will hook up singles from all genders and sexual orientations.
(Source: Cynopsis)
New series for the new year on Freeform include the Party of Five reboot, launching Wednesday, January 8 at 9p, and Everything’s Gonne Be Okay, debuting Thursday, January 16 at 8:30p, following the season three premiere of grown-ish. Season four of The Bold Type arrives Thursday, January 23 at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season two of Food Network’s Delicious Miss Brown premieres Sunday, January 5 at 12p. Charleston-set cooking show features southern recipes and sea island culture.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Segments of TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee filmed amid the protests in Hong Kong will air Wednesday, December 18 at 10:30p. “There was a huge march the day we left of hundreds of thousands of people – I’m sure it was in celebration of us being there and not people being excited we were leaving,” said Bee.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Simpsons Plus+Size Holiday Marathon will run on FXX starting at 8p on December 17, precisely 30 years to the date and time of the series premiere on Fox in 1989. The stunt feature 661 episodes from the first 30 seasons in their original sequence, including The Simpsons Movie, as well as the animated short The Longest Daycare, airing for the first time in syndication at 11:30a on Dec. 28. At the conclusion of the marathon at 4:30p on December 31, FXX will air a “Best of the Marathon” marathon, including the 11 greatest The Simpsons episodes as determined by the series’ creators and viewer usage on FX Networks’ former Simpsons World on-demand portal.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Former The Voice coach Jennifer Hudson returns to the show, along with recording artists Black Eyed Peas, Luke Combs, Lady Antebellum, Dua Lipa and Season 16 winner Maelyn, to perform on the live two-hour season finale on Tuesday, December 17 at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The CW’s Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2019 airs tonight at 9p. What to expect? “The vault of great holiday commercials, from funny to heartfelt, continues to grow. Some of the best creative is being produced outside the US. For this year’s special, hosts Kevin Frazier and Keltie Knight are counting down the 12 greatest holiday commercials from around the world,” Robert Horowitz, Juma President, and Executive Producer, tells Cynopsis. “But when the countdown reaches the final 2 commercials, viewers at home will decide the winner using Twitter.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Tonight at 10p ET, REVOLT, will air highlights from this year’s multi-city REVOLT Summit event series, which featured conversations from artists, executives, and cultural leaders, including network founder Sean “Diddy” Combs, Issa Rae, Killer Mike, Chadwick Boseman, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Mona Scott-Young, and more. The moments will be recapped in two specials, including The Business of Hip Hop on December 23.
(Source: Cynopsis)
After a 46-year run on radio and television, Canadian comedy troupe Air Farce is winding down. Their final show, Air Farce New Years Eve 2019 , premieres Monday, December 30 at 8p on CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC’s The Rookie improved by 9% week to week among A18-49 (1.2/6 vs. 1.1/5) to match its season high and grew for its 2nd straight telecast in Total Viewers (+7% – 7.2 million vs. 6.7 million) for its biggest audience since its season premiere.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Nick’s The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! on December 7 was the #1 telecast for the week across all TV among K6-11. In Live +3 the simulcast (across Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons and TeenNick) drew 1.7 million Total Viewers, up +24% and averaged a 3.4/751,000 K2-11, with gains of +25% and a 3.8/522,000 with K6-11 posting gains of +28%.
(Source: Cynopsis)
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
Jumanji: The Next Level – $60.1 million
Frozen II – $19.2 million
Knives Out – $9.3 million
Richard Jewell – $5 million
Black Christmas – $4.4 million
(Source: Box Office Mojo)
Keely's Korner 