FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (WEDNESDAY 5/3/23)
DISNEY+: Ed Sheeran: The Sum of it All (Premiere)
ID: See No Evil (Premiere) at 9pm
ID: On the Case With Paula Zahn (Premiere) at 10pm
MAGNOLIA: Restoring Galveston (Premiere) at 8pm
NETFLIX: Jewish Matchmaking (Premiere)
ABC: The Conners (Finale) at 8pm
ABC: The Goldbergs (Finale) at 8:30pm
ABC: Not Dead Yet (Finale) at 9:30pm
ABC: A Million Little Things (Finale) at 10pm
APPLE TV+: Schmigadoon (Finale)
Members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike at 12:01a on Tuesday, accusing producers of creating a “gig economy” inside a union work force. Writers were instructed to order their representatives to refrain from any discussions about writing services on future or pending projects. “From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a ‘day rate’ in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession,” said the WGA. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers countered that its offer of a new contract included “generous increases in compensation for writers.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Television Critics Association will scrap its summer press tour if the WGA and AMPTP can’t reach an agreement “in a timely manner,” the TCA board informed members. The event is scheduled to take place July 28-August 11.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Nightly talk shows were first to shut down, since the writing on those programs is done close to airtime. Weekly HBO shows “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” will also close. Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” remains on air, reportedly because Greg Gutfeld and his team are not WGA members. This week’s “Saturday Night Live,” which was to be hosted by Pete Davidson, has also been postponed. Said Davidson on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” “It sucks because it just feeds my weird story I have in my head, like, of course that would happen to me.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC daytime talker “The View” will soldier on, for now, without writers. “As you know, there is a writer’s strike on, and so we don’t have writers,” said moderator Whoopi Goldberg on Tuesday morning’s show. “So you’re gonna hear how it would be when it’s not, you know, slicked up.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Revised Nielsen numbers have upped viewership of Super Bowl LVIIacross Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming to 115.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl ever. The revision resulted from a review by Nielsen that revealed irregularities in the encoding that enables Nielsen’s measurement of TV viewing as well as issues with the out-of-home measurement of the event. The previous viewership number had been over 113 million, ranking the game the second most-watched ever.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Dancing With the Stars,” which moved from ABC to Disney+ last season, is returning to ABC while also streaming, reports Vulture. Season 32 will feature former DWTS pro Julianne Hough as a co-host, and Alfonso Ribeiro promoted to emcee.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Vice Media is preparing to file for bankruptcy if it fails to find a buyer. The digital media brand, founded in 1994, was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. While there has reportedly been interest, the company’s $1 billion+ price tag and debt load have been an issue.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Spectrum has awarded the Latino Theater Company $10,000 through the 2022-2023 Stand For The Arts Awards, a partnership with Ovation TV that recognizes local arts, cultural and educational organizations and programs.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Law&Crime has finalized a new cable distribution deal with the National Content & Technology Cooperative. As part of this agreement, NCTC member cable and broadband operators will be able to access Law&Crime’s coverage of trials such as Alex Murdaugh, Gwyneth Paltrow and Johnny Depp, which drew over one billion viewers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Reality dating series “FBoy Island,” canceled by HBO Max after two seasons, has been picked up by The CW for season three, along with spinoff series “FGirl Island.” “With its innovative and modern twist on the reality dating genre, incredibly talented host Nikki Glaser, and truly unforgettable title, ‘Fboy Island’ on The CW is a perfect match,” said The CW head of unscripted programming Heather Olander. “Along with our partners at STXtelevision, we look forward to growing the franchise on The CW with the gender-flipping spinoff ‘FGirl Island’ and cannot wait to introduce the next generation of FBoys and FGirls to existing fans as well as a new broadcast audience.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Paradise Lost,” a Vanity Fair feature story by contributor David Kushner, is being developed into a documentary, produced by Anchor Entertainment and Vanity Fair Studios. The story follows two Aussie surfer bros who thought they’d found a slice of paradise in Fiji until a deep-pocketed Chinese developer set up shop next door and started digging up the reef offshore.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season eight of A&E’s “60 Days In” kicks off Thursday, June 15 at 9p. The premiere will be followed by the launch of “Booked: First Day In,” taking viewers through the booking process from the point of view of the arrestee.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Order Up!”, a new series featuring Hudson Yang (“Fresh Off the Boat”), premieres Sunday, May 7 on Insight TV, coinciding with AAPI month. The series, which puts Yang through a chef apprenticeship, will be available globally across Insight TV’s network of digital and linear channels.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” is back for season 11 starting June 13 at 8p, as part of MTV’s “Tuesday Night Takeover” lineup. Series vets will be joined by new cast members.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Peacock’s “Based on a True Story” will premiere in June. The series, from executive producer and writer Craig Rosenberg and Aggregate Films executive producers Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan, offers a satirical take on true crime stories. “Over the last decade, a true crime phenomenon has swept over America,” said Rosenberg. “Podcasts, documentaries, fictional shows based on true stories – they dominate the culture. Murderers have become celebrities and celebrities have become murderers which inspired me to create this show.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Searching For Soul Food,” following celebrity chef Alisa Reynolds as she discovers what soul food looks like around the world, launches Friday, June 2 on Hulu.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Air,” the film starring and directed by Ben Affleck about Nike courting a young Michael Jordan, drops on Prime Video on May 12. The movie will have been shown in theaters for 38 days before its streaming bow.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Family Entertainment Television has renewed a selection of films starring John Wayne, following a Duke stunt in 2022 that reached nearly 3.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Films like “El Dorado,” “Big Jake,” and “Sands of Iwo Jima” will air on FMC and FETV starting in June and continuing through December. “We are excited to present these curated film titles for seven straight months, while also engaging with our audience on social media through trivia and authentic backstory surrounding the programming,” said Jaclyn Rann Cohen,EVP Content Acquisitions for FETV and FMC.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ First Round coverage of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs set new all-time cable viewership records for total round and for TNT’s Game 7 telecasts on Sunday. The Florida Panthers’ come-from-behind victory over the Boston Bruins netted 3.2 million viewers, the most watched first round game of all-time on cable and the most watched first round game on any network in over a decade (Bruins/Capitals, 4/22/12). Viewership peaked at 4.1 million from 9:30-9:56p. TNT and TBS combined to average 959,000 viewers during the networks’ first round coverage, the most watched first round on cable all time, and up 18% vs. 2022.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Another record-setter was Sunday’s NBA game on ABC between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. With 9.8 million viewers, it was the most-watched NBA Playoffs first round game in 24 years, and the most-watched NBA Playoffs first round ever for Disney, ranking as ABC’s largest audience for a non-finals postseason game.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Hill reached more than 32 million people across its digital channels in March, according to Comscore. The digital-first political news brand is one of a handful of media outlets in the “News & Information” space showing audience growth since the beginning of the year, with a 5% gain in audience more audience since January.
(Source: Cynopsis)
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