FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 9/7/23)
NETFLIX: Dear Child (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Gamera – Rebirth (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Top Boy (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Virgin River (Premiere)
OUTKICK: OutKick the Morning with Charly Arnolt (Premiere) at 8am
PARAMOUNT+: Star Trek: Lower Decks (Premiere)
TRAVEL CHANNEL: The Dead Files (Premiere) at 10pm
The timetable for Disney’s expected buyout of Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu has shifted. At a Goldman Sachs conference this week, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the companies have agreed to start the process on September 30 rather than in January. Roberts also suggested that the price for the “scarce, kingmaker asset” will likely go much higher than the minimum valuation of $27.5 billion set five years ago. “We’re excited to get this resolved,” said Roberts.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Its carriage dispute with Disney has led to a class action lawsuit against Charter Communications. A Charter Spectrum subscriber alleges Charter has continued to bill for services – Disney-owned channels – it is not delivering. “Instead of providing the programming its viewers pay hundreds of dollars a month for, Spectrum, in the middle of the US Open, college football and the start of the Labor Day weekend – easily one of the busiest TV weekends of the year, decided to use sports fans and other Spectrum consumers as a pawn in a clear money grab,” alleges the lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks an order requiring Charter to provide the channels or reimburse customers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Roku is laying off 10% of its staff, or about 360 employees. In an SEC filing, the company also said it is “performing a strategic review of its content portfolio, reducing outside service expenses” and “consolidating office space utilization.” Roku anticipates recording an impairment charge of $160-$200 million related to office facilities and an impairment charge in of $55-$65 million related to removing select existing licensed and produced content from company-operated services on its TV streaming platform.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount+ renewed “Mayor of Kingstown” for a third season. The Taylor Sheridan series starring Jeremy Renner – who has made a remarkable recovery since he broke 30 bones in a snowplow accident in January – is one of the top performing original dramas on the streamer.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bob Brooks has been named an anchor and correspondent for the Newsmax channel. Brooks joins Newsmax from 6ABC Action News in Philadelphia, where he worked as a general reporter and fill-in anchor.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Telemundo has signed an agreement with actor Danilo Carrera calling for Carrera to star in various Telemundo Global Studios original productions, as well as participate in several of the network’s entertainment shows and specials. “I began my career at Telemundo practically as a kid, and now 12 years later, I return as a man,” said the “Grachi” star. “I’m excited to begin this new phase and kick-off the great projects I know we will create together.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fly on the Wall Entertainment (“Big Brother”) has partnered with candy retailer Candy Funhouse and its owners, NBA league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and brothers Thanasis, Kostas and Alex, to create an unscripted TV series that will crown the first-ever Chief Candy Officer. “With the sheer volume of applications we’ve received for this one-of-a-kind position, we’ve found it difficult to decide on who would be the ultimate Chief Candy Officer,” said Jamal Hejazi, CEO of Candy Funhouse. “We believe the series will be a great way for people to see the selection process as we ultimately decide who is the right person for this dream job.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
OUTtv has commissioned a second season of competition series “Sew Fierce,” an OUTtv original produced by Sonic Nursery. The new season started production this month and is set to launch on OUTtv in spring 2024.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Peter Gadiot (“Queen of the South”) and Eliza Taylor (“The 100”) landed series regular roles on season two of NBC’s “Quantum Leap” reboot, premiering Wednesday, October 4.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season four of “The Drew Barrymore Show” launches Monday, September 18, with celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton joining Drew’s News Co-Anchor Ross Mathews, interior designer Mikel Welch, chef Pilar Valdes and sustainable living guru Danny Seo. “From launching during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to successfully pivoting to a groundbreaking half-hour format, this show has demonstrated spectacular resilience and creative agility on its journey to becoming the fastest-growing show in daytime,” said Wendy McMahon, President and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Showtime’s “The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth” is back for season eight on Sunday, October 8 at 7p. The series follows President Biden’s mounting campaign, Donald Trump’s unfolding legal battles and impending trials, and the longshot Republican candidates attempting to dethrone him.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Savior Complex” debuts Tuesday, September 26 at 9p on HBO. The docuseries chronicles the controversial story surrounding Renee Bach, a young American missionary who felt called by God to set up a charity for malnourished children in Jinja, Uganda.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fox has moved season three of “I Can See Your Voice” from fall to midseason, and slotted repeats of “9-1-1: Lone Star” for Tuesdays at 9p, starting September 19. Season two of “I Can See Your Voice” aired from December 2021-June 2022.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Docuseries “Rebuilding Black Wall Street,” hosted by Morris Chestnut (“The Best Man”), will trace the century-long impact of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and chronicle the community rebuilding, starting Friday, September 29 at 9p on OWN.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Mona Kosar Abdi and Megan Ryte have joined “Extra” for its 30th season, premiering Monday, September 11. Kosar Abdi will serve as a senior correspondent and weekend co-host based in New York, and Ryte will be a correspondent based in LA, joining host Billy Bush and senior correspondent/weekend co-host Melvin Robert.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Also returning on September 11 is syndicated “Pictionary,” hosted by Jerry O’Connell. Celebrity captains for season two include Jojo Siwa, Raven-Symoné, Rebecca Romijn, Corbin Bleu, Ricki Lake, Loni Love, Jaleel White, Carson Kressley, Kevin Nealon, and more.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Another syndicated game show, “Who The Bleep Is That?”, returns in 31 major markets on September 11.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal” will expand its distribution to 140 markets across the US this fall, with season 11 of the syndicated show debuting the weekend of September 9 with a preview of the fall 2023 Broadway season.
(Source: Cynopsis)
UPtv is set to celebrate the Most Uplifting Christmas Ever this year with 45 days of Christmas programming. The stunt’s 85 titles include eight premiere movies and a new Gaither music special, “A Christmas Homecoming.” In addition, subscription streaming service UP Faith & Family kicks off the holiday season on November 3 with over 200 Christmas favorites as part of “Cozy UP to Christmas.” Thirty-five premiere and exclusive titles are being added this year including the service’s first ever Christmas mystery.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The second CrimeCon CLUE Awards has secured Law&Crime as its streaming partner. The ceremony, which honors excellence in true crime content, will stream live on Law&Crime’s YouTube channel, as well as on Law&Crime’s Facebook and TikTok, on Saturday, September 23 at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Feature film “Elemental” starts streaming Wednesday, September13, along with the making-of documentary “Good Chemistry: The Story of Elemental,” and Pixar Animation Studios’ short “Carl’s Date,” featuring talking dog Dug.
(Source: Cynopsis)
MeTV’s second annual “Svengoolie’s Halloween BOOnanza” will include back-to-back horror movies every Saturday night, and overnight blocks including “The Twilight Zone,” “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” and “Sventoonie,” as well as a Saturday mini-marathon of themed classic TV Westerns, several Sundays of mini-marathons of sitcoms, and more themed episodes airing Halloween day and evening.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Lifetime has slated “Truly Unbelievable Movies,” a Ripped from the Headlines Event, with seven new original movies (produced earlier this year). Among them is the network’s 500th original movie, two-night event “Murdaugh Murders: The Movie,” starring Bill Pullman as Alex Murdaugh, premiering October 14 and 15 at 8p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The first round of 2023 “VMAs” presenters includes Bebe Rexha, Charli D’Amelio, Coco Jones, Dixie D’Amelio, Emily Ratajkowski, French Montana, GloRilla, Ice Spice, Jared Leto, Madelyn Cline, Rita Ora and Sabrina Carpenter. The ceremony airs live on Tuesday, September 12, following a 6:30p pre-show on MTV, MTV2, CMT and Logo.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Chris Mortensen took to X/Twitter to let fans know he’s done with his job as ESPN football analyst. “Excited about another season but it’s time to reveal after my 33rd NFL draft in April, I made a decision to step away from ESPN and focus on my health, family and faith,” he shared. “The gratitude and humility is overwhelming. It’s not a classic retirement. I’ll still be here talking ball. It’s just time.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBC Sports Next’s new GolfPass instruction series, “The Next Shot,” hosted by GolfPass coach Nathalie Sheehan, premieres Monday, September 11.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Relo Metrics, the AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform, has launched datasets for the 2022-2023 NFL Season on Snowflake Marketplace. “This information allows customers to correlate any and all visibility of brand activations anywhere the consumer touches/interacts with NFL content, including live and on-demand NFL game content on all platforms from connected TV to social media,” said Jay Prasad, CEO, Relo Metrics.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The NFL and Snapchat have partnered to launch a gamified NFL Kickoff Lens that will create an immersive tailgate experience. Snapchatters can play cornhole and rack up points as their 3D Bitmoji cheers them on, and the NFL Live Jersey Lens now allows fans to try on official jerseys for all 32 NFL teams throughout the season.
(Source: Cynopsis)
New Zealand Rugby has partnered with Endeavor Streaming to deliver its global direct-to-consumer service to fans. The platform, NZR+, delivers on-demand content to fans around the world for the first time.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday” had its biggest week one game ever, up 17% over last year with an average 7.262 million viewers, and the most-watched telecast of the day on any network. The Colorado/TCU upset was also Fox’s third most-watched Big 12 regular season college football game ever.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Keely's Korner 