FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 8/31/23)
HULU: Spellbound (Premiere)
MAX: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (Premiere)
NETFLIX: One Piece (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Karate Sheep (Premiere)
SUNDANCE NOW: The Pact (Premiere)
CNN has a new leader. Mark Thompson, former chief executive of The New York Times and former Director General of the BBC, has been appointed Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, effective October 9. “There isn’t a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark,” said David Zaslav, CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery. “Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world’s most respected news organizations.” Thompson replaces Chris Licht, who was let go in June.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“We face pressure from every direction – structural, political, cultural, you name it,” said Thompson in his first note to CNN staff. “Like many other media organizations, CNN has recently felt some of the uncertainty and heartache that comes with all of that. There’s no magic wand that I or anyone else can wield to make this disruption go away. But what I can say is that where others see threat, I see opportunity – especially given CNN’s great brand and the strength of its journalism.” As for his leadership style, Thompson wrote, “It won’t be my plan that wins the day but our plan, the plan we devise and implement together.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
There’s a new chief at NBCUniversal, too – Mark Marshall has been promoted to the role of Chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships. Marshall has served as interim Chairman since May, when Linda Yaccarino decamped for Twitter/X days before the company’s Upfront presentation. “Mark stepped into this role on an interim basis at one of the most critical times of year for the ad sales business, and over the past three months he has more than proven himself to be the leader NBCU needs to guide this team into the future,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group. “Mark’s relationships are second to none, and coupled with his transformative vision, I have no doubt that under his leadership we will continue to reinvent and innovate the sales business while super-serving our clients and partners.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hulu has canceled “The Great” after three seasons. The critically acclaimed period comedy drama starred Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Happier news for fans of “The Lincoln Lawyer,” which has been renewed for a third season at Netflix. “The audience response to the show has been so gratifying and wonderful, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to dive back into Michael Connelly’s universe and bring Mickey Haller and his world to the screen again,” said Ted Humphrey and Dailyn Rodriguez, co-showrunners and executive producers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Woodcut Media explores female heroism in three-part history docuseries “World War II: Women on the Frontline,” currently in production. The series has been pre-sold to Channel 4 in the UK, and SBS (Australia).
(Source: Cynopsis)
A docuseries about stunt performers from 87North and Universal Pictures Content Group is in post-production. The six-parter follows the everyday lives of performers and features behind-the-scenes access to Hollywood movie sets.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Invisible Boys,” based on the book by Holden Sheppard, has been commissioned for production in Geraldton and Perth, Western Australia. Stan commissioned the series following a Stan and Screenwest joint development initiative, designed to foster local talent and spark the development of new series in WA. Banijay Rights will handle international distribution for the series.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Gary R. Benz, CEO of GRB Studios and Sophie Ferron, CEO of Media Ranch have entered into a joint venture partnership to create a distribution organization. The new entity, GRB Media Ranch, will combine the companies’ content catalogs for a portfolio that includes over 5,000 hours of factual, unscripted, and scripted programming as well as formats in all genres.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Discovery’s “Gold Rush” is back for a new season on Friday, September 29 at 8p, with 28-year-old mining prodigy Parker Schnabel at a crossroads. Does he play it safe and scale back his operation, or risk it all on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire historically gold-rich virgin ground?
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBC has tweaked its Wednesday lineup. Starting October 4, “Quantum Leap” will kick off the night at 8p, followed by “Magnum P.I.” at 9p and “Chicago” encores at 10p. Previously, the network had “Chicago” encores set for 8p, followed by “Quantum” and “Magnum.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season three of Circle Network’s “Landmarks: The Stages of Country Music” will feature country music stars including Jelly Roll, Ernest, Elle King, Priscilla Block, Maggie Rose, Ricky Skaggs, Jon Randall and more. The new season kicks off Sunday, September 6 at 11:30.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Also headed for a third season is Starz drama “BMF,” starting Friday, March 1. The series was inspired by brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory(Demetrius Flenory, Jr.) and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi), who established one of the most infamous crime families in the country known as, Black Mafia Family.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Our Flag Means Death” returns to Max for season two on Thursday, October 5. The comedy is very, very loosely based on the true story of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet, who finds love with the infamous Captain Blackbeard.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” returns this fall on WOW Presents Plus in the US and select territories worldwide, day-and-date with its local airing on BBC3 in the UK. Among this year’s nine guest judges are Cush Jumbo (“The Good Wife”), supermodel Kristen Mcmenamy, and Yasmin Finney (“Heartstopper”).
(Source: Cynopsis)
The season premiere of AXS TV’s “Parking Lot Payday” airs Tuesday, October 3 at 8:30p, with shock rocker Alice Cooper sitting in the hot seat.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The US Copyright Office is undertaking a study of the copyright law and policy issues raised by generative AI and is assessing whether legislative or regulatory steps are warranted, part of its AI initiative. “We launched this initiative at the beginning of the year to focus on the increasingly complex issues raised by generative AI. This notice of inquiry and the public comments we will receive represent a critical next step,” said Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and director of the US Copyright Office. “We look forward to continuing to examine these issues of vital importance to the evolution of technology and the future of human creativity.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
FOX News Media’s Stuart Varney and Dana Perino and Univision’s Ilia Calderón will co-moderate the second Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 election. Broadcast on FOX Business Network and Univision, the debate will take place on Wednesday, September 27 at 9p at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBCUniversal is going big with coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, taking place August 28-September 8, 2024. More than 140 hours of Paris Paralympic television coverage across NBC, USA Network, and CNBC will be presented, including daily live coverage of every competition day on USA Network and CNBC; nine hours of programming on NBC; and 1500 hours of coverage on Peacock.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Netflix announced its fall streaming release schedule for films. First up are documentary “Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America” on September 6, and rom-com “Love at First Sight” and dark comedy “El Conde” on September 15.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Super Bowl champ and ESPN regular Ryan Clark has signed on to host The CW’s weekly series “Inside the NFL,” kicking off Tuesday, September 5. “I dreamed of being a host, but not even in my wildest dreams did I think it would be the host of ‘Inside the NFL’,” said Clark. “I played against all the analysts who will be with me on Tuesday nights and always admired the way they approached the game of football. I’m excited to see that same passion poured into the new ‘Inside the NFL’ now that we are all on the same team.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The third season of live NHL on TNT coverage will include a 62-game regular season schedule, starting with the TNT debut of rookie Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks as part of a marquee opening week doubleheader on Wednesday, October 11. Additional highlights include the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, regular live game coverage on Wednesday nights and live Sunday afternoon games starting in February 2024.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Africa’s highest ranked football clubs will compete in the Inaugural African Football League (“AFL”), designed to showcase the best of African club football. The competition starts with knock-out quarter finals and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final, all of which will be played over two legs. The first match takes place on October 20 in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.
(Source: Cynopsis)
SailGP has expanded its collaboration with T-Mobile for Business for seasons four and five spanning 2023 through 2025. SailGP will leverage a 5G Hybrid Mobile Network from T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions (5G ANS) portfolio to further elevate fan experience with immersive views of live race action and provide SailGP athletes advanced on-water performance analysis.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Association of Pickleball Players has partnered with Pickleball Australia to become the promoting partner of the country’s premier event, now titled The 2023 GemLife Australian Pickleball Championships powered by The APP, held September 29 through October 2 in Sydney. With more than 600 players expected to compete, it will be the largest-ever competitive pickleball event in the southern hemisphere.
(Source: Cynopsis)
FOX News Channel finished August 2023 as cable television’s most-watched network across both primetime and total day viewership and second in the 25-54 demo with total day behind ESPN, according to Nielsen. In total day, FNC delivered 1.2 million viewers and 144,000 among A25-54 demo. In primetime, FNC netted 1.9 million viewers and 226,000 in the demo. Month over month, FNC posted a 22% increase in total viewers and 54% in the 25-54 demo.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hallmark Channel was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network in Weekend Primetime throughout its “Summer Night” month-long stunt among Households, Women and Persons 18+, and Total Viewers, reaching 20 million Unduplicated Viewers throughout the month of August.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Production designer and art director Chip Dox died August 15. He was 80. Dox was best known for his Emmy-winning work on daytime soap operas “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Keely's Korner 