FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (WEDNESDAY 4/19/23)
AMAZON: Murder in the Red Light (Premiere)
HGTV: Home in a Heartbeat (Premiere) at 9pm
HULU: Agiers, America (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Chimp Empire (Premiere)
NETFLIX: The Marked Heart (Premiere)
PBS: Changing Planet (Premiere) at 9pm
ABC: Abbott Elementary (Finale) at 9pm
FX: Snowfall (Finale) at 10pm
Syfy: The Arc (Finale) at 10pm
A settlement was reached Tuesday afternoon in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox News. The jury had been seated and opening statements were about to begin in the sweltering courtroom when things suddenly came to a stop for over two hours. Then Delaware Superior Court judge Eric M. Davis reappeared and told the court, “The parties have resolved their case.” According to Dominion’s lawyers, the settlement includes a $787.5 million payment from Fox. “The truth matters,” said Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson. “Lies have consequences.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Said Fox News in a statement, “We acknowledge the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.” The trial, centered on misinformation during the 2020 election, had been scheduled to begin Monday, then delayed until Tuesday.
(Source: Cynopsis)
This may not be Fox’s last court date – it still faces a lawsuit filed by another election technology company, Smartmatic. “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign,” a Smartmatic spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday. “Smartmatic will expose the rest.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
NewsNation is expanding to 24 hours, Monday through Friday, beginning Monday, April 24. As part of the move the network will launch new live, four-hour weekday programming block, “NewsNation Now,” airing from 1-5p. “I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished in just a little over two and a half years,” said Sean Compton, President of Nexstar Networks. “NewsNation’s growth has been fueled by exceptional talent with stellar reputations for high-quality journalism, and by viewers hungry for unbiased news reporting.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Netflix will introduce “paid sharing” in the US in the coming weeks, part of the streamer’s crackdown on the loaning of login credentials. The US debut, during the second quarter (April through June), is part of a “broad rollout” across the world, the company explained in its quarterly letter to shareholders.
(Source: Cynopsis)
How do you celebrate turning 100? If you’re Warner Bros. Studios, you enlist WBD’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team to create a short film series that reimagines the Studio’s films through a diverse and inclusive lens. Six filmmakers have been selected to develop and shoot 20-minute short film adaptions of the classic Warner Bros. titles A Star is Born, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Calamity Jane, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Prince and the Pauper and Rebel Without a Cause, with representative casting, storytelling and narrative. “We’re absolutely thrilled to work with WBD’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team to expand opportunities for a broader range of talent to realize their dreams at Warner Bros.,” said Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, Co-Chairs & CEOs, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “We can’t think of a better way to celebrate this Studio’s 100-year legacy than investing in the next generation of great storytellers.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises celebrated five years of growth and expansion of its multimedia career mentorship and student development program, Telemundo Academy, on Tuesday. To mark the occasion, the company announced a new partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, an international organization representing more than 500 colleges and universities in the US, Puerto Rico, Latin America and Spain committed to Hispanic higher education success.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Love Island” is getting a spinoff. Peacock has ordered “Love Island Games,” set to premiere in Fall 2023. The series will bring together cross-franchise fan-favorite contestants from the US, UK, Australia and more for a second shot at love.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC renewed “Will Trent” for a sophomore season. The series has averaged 6.1 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating (with Live+7 playback).
(Source: Cynopsis)
David Spade is set to host “Snake Oil,” a new game show ordered by Fox, with Will Arnett attached as executive producer. The original format will feature entrepreneurs pitching unique new products – some of which are actual business ventures, and others that are fake. Contestants will have to determine which are legit and which are shams with the help of guest celebrity advisors.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Let bygones be bygones? Charlie Sheen and “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre – who famously fired him from the show – are reuniting on Max comedy “How to Be a Bookie,” according to Deadline. Sheen is set to recur on the series headlined by Sebastian Maniscalco, which hails from Warner Bros.Television.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Ewan McGregor will star in “Lodi,” a drama series ordered by Amazon Prime Video, reports Variety. Inspired by a true story told in an Alta online article by Andrew Dubbins, the show follows Lou (McGregor), who goes from car salesman to FBI informant infiltrating the mafia when a key member of the organized crime offers to buy his Cadillac dealership.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bret Easton Ellis’ novel The Shards is in series development at HBO. Ellis will write the project, as well as executive produce it with Nick Hall and Brain Young. Set in 1981, the show tracks a group of privileged Los Angeles high school friend as a serial killer strikes across the city. A podcast dropped on the novel last year.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount Television Studios is working on a “Galaxy Quest” TV series based on the 1999 DreamWorks sci-fi comedy film. The project is in the early stages of development and is being executive produced by the movie’s producer mark Johnson via his Gran Via Productions.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Netflix has renewed “Perfect Match” for a second season. Nick Lachey will return as host of the unscripted dating series.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Sony Pictures Television and Don Cheadle’s The Radicle Act are developing Lama Giles YA novel, The Getaway. It contemplates what would happen if the world fell into chaos, and you and your family were stuck working in the one of the world’s most famous resorts with the world’s richest and most post powerful guest.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Casting Note: Candace Cameron Bure will star in Great American Family holiday movie, “My Christmas Hero.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
AMC Networks’ Head of Programming, Dan McDermott, announced the development of a potential third series in the expanding Anne Rice Immortal Universe. Oscar-nominated John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”) is attached as showrunner and writer. The series is set in the world of the Talamasca, a secret organization featured in a number of Rice’s novels that is devoted to studying the supernatural world and keeping mortals safe from its darkest elements.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Also on the docket are two new WE tv series, including an expansion of the “Growing Up Hip Hop” franchise with “Toya & Reginae.” The program features the ex-wife and daughter of hip hop legend Lil Wayne, Toya Johnson-Rushing and Reginae Carter, both of whom appeared on “Growing Up Hip Hop.” In addition, “Bev Is Boss” will be based on the life of Deb Antney. The music managing mogul rose to fame for breaking the careers of Gucci Mane, French Montana and Nicki Minaj.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Apple TV+ presents “Big Beasts” on Friday, April 21. Filmed over four and half years, the nature documentary series takes audiences on a journey around the globe.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Amazon Freevee courtroom series, “Tribunal Justice,” debuts with three new episodes on Friday, June 9 in the US, UK, Germany and Austria. Created by “Judge Judy” star Judy Sheindlin, the series features judges Patricia DiMango, Tanya Acker and Adam Levy with the return of bailiff Petri Hawkins Byrd.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Netflix limited series “All The Light We Cannot See” bows Thursday, November 2, following the story of Marie-Laure (Aria Mia Loberti), a blind French girl and her father, Daniel LeBlanc (Mark Ruffalo), who flee German-occupied Paris with a legendary diamond to keep it from falling into the hands of the Nazis.
(Source: Cynopsis)
New original stories about entertainment icons Sammy Davis Jr., Sean Connery and Doris Day will be delved into in the return of “Autopsy: The Last Hours of…”. The trio battled health scares early in their careers, and the series explores their medical histories with forensic details. First up: “Autopsy: The Last Hours of… Sammy Davis Jr.” on Sunday May 7 at 9p on Reelz.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season 2 of Amazon Studios’ “Will Love” premieres Friday, June 2 on Prime Video. The romantic dramedy centers on siblings Lily and Jorge Diaz as they navigate big life changes and rely on their equally big family to get through them.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount+’s “Wynonna Judd: Between Hell and Hallelujah” debuts Wednesday, April 26. The documentary follows the singer as she navigates the next phase of her life and career following her mother, Naomi Judd’s passing.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Kenn Viselman, the producer behind “Teletubbies” and “Thomas the Tank Engine” is launching itsybitsyWOW.com, an online entertainment emporium for families. It officially premieres on April 21 with The World Premiere of a Live MeteorHeroes Earth Day Event.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The most-watching streaming shows in March were “Outer Banks” and “The Mandalorian,” according to Nielsen’s monthly report, The Gauge. It noted that viewers watched 4.6B minutes of “Outer Banks,” following its Season 3 release in February, leading any other streaming program. Meanwhile, “The Mandalorian” drew over 3.6B viewing minutes.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Netflix is shutting down its DVD-by-mail business. “After an incredible 25-year run, we’ve decided to wind down DVD.com later this year,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post on the company’s site. “Our goal has always been to provide the best service to our members, but as the business continues to shrink, that’s going to become increasingly difficult. So we want to go out on a high, and will be shipping our final discs on September 29, 2023.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
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