FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 1/11/24)
A&E: Taking the Stand (Premiere) at 9pm
A&E: Undercover: Caught on Tape (Premiere) at 10pm
CW: Children Ruin Everything (Premiere) at 9:30pm
FOX: Gordon Ramsay’s Road Trip (Premiere) at 9pm
INSP: The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger (Premiere) at 8pm
NETFLIX: Champion (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Killer Soup (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Sonic (Premiere)
PARAMOUNT+: SkyMed (Premiere)
PEACOCK: Ted (Premiere)
TOPIC: Arctic Circle (Premiere)
Amazon started notifying hundreds of employees at Prime Video and MGM Studios that they were being laid off. Impacted employees in the Americas were informed yesterday. “Our industry continues to evolve quickly and it’s important that we prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business,” said an email to staff from Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. “We’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke also addressed staffers, sharing strategic changes that includes consolidating the Amazon Studios and MGM theatrical distribution teams, and integrating the MGM Unscripted Television team alongside MGM+ and MGM Unscripted. Organizational changes have also led to the loss of some roles across the Studio Marketing, Business Operations (Production, Post & Business Affairs) and Amazon MGM Studios Distribution teams.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Amazon-owned Twitch is also undergoing layoffs. The livestreaming site is cutting 35% of its employees, or about 500 people. “This decision, while incredibly difficult and painful, is necessary to ensure that we can continue to serve our streamers sustainably without impacting their ability to support their careers on Twitch,” said Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said in a blog post. Twitch underwent two rounds of layoffs, eliminating over 400 jobs, last year.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Is Skydance Media considering making a bid for Paramount Globalparent National Amusements? The Wall Street Journal reports that Skydance CEO David Ellison is discussing an all-cash bid, with an assist from Skydance investors. Skydance and Paramount aren’t strangers – the companies have co-produced blockbuster films as well as TV series “Reacher” and “Jack Ryan.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The library of Tyler Perry’s BET/BET+ shows – nearly 600 hours of content from series including “Sistas,” “The Oval,” “House of Pain” and more – will be made available for licensing and third-party platforms for the first time. “To date, the Tyler Perry portfolio of content is among the highest-rated programming among Black Americans on television,” said Scott Mills, President & CEO, BET Media Group. “Our offering of Tyler Perry’s expansive library of hit series will offer third-party platforms a unique opportunity that will increase retention and super-serve viewers like never before.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Nominees for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild were announced on Wednesday. As it did for the most recent Emmy Awards, “Succession” had three actors in the category for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series – but not the same three. Emmy nominees Brian Cox and Kieran Culkin (Culkin won the Emmy) made the cut, along with Matthew Macfadyen; Jeremy Strong, a nominee last year, did not. Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”) and Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”) round out the group. Peacock landed its first SAG Award nomination, with Tony Shaloub in contention for “Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.” The ceremony streams live on Netflix on Saturday, February 24 at 8p. For a complete list of nominees, go here.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Outspoken New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t be making any more appearances on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” this season – and McAfee, for one, is relieved. “Some of his thoughts and opinions do piss off a lot of people and I am pumped that that is no longer going to be every single Wednesday of my life, which it has been for the last few weeks,” said McAfee on his show. Rodgers, who had been making weekly guest appearances since 2020, drew fire for his suggestion that Jimmy Kimmel was on the list of associates of Jeffrey Epstein.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Filming is now underway on the six-part BBC One detective series“Ludwig,” starring David Mitchell as a man who takes over his brother’s identity in a quest to discover his whereabouts. Joining Mitchell is Anna Maxwell Martin (“Motherland”).
(Source: Cynopsis)
Production is also underway on the third season Paramount+’s “Mayor or Kingstown.” The Taylor Sheridan drama starring Jeremy Renner is currently filming in Pittsburgh.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount+ in Canada, the Pacific Screenwriting Program and theIndigenous Screen Office have partnered for the new Indigenous Screenwriters Lab, which will support the careers of six mid-level Indigenous writers from across Canada with a genre focus of futurism and science fiction.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Ball Media (“Bar Rescue”) has formed a joint venture with Jeff Goldman’s Octopean Media calling for 3MBG to provide the Octopean team access to its infrastructure. “There’s been a huge shift in the media and content industry, and everyone is focused on business models that can thrive in a ‘new normal,’” said Goldman. “Octopean was built to explore and leverage ancillary revenue streams for rights holders – strategically, aggressively and with a brand-first approach – which is critical for companies looking to monetize the full scope of their IP.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”) has joined the season three cast of HBO’s “The White Lotus.” The season is slated to start filming next month in Thailand. Also headed for HBO is Young Mazino (“Beef”), who has boarded season two of “The Last of Us.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Telemundo has lined up more celebrity contestants for reality show “La Casa do los Famosos,” premiering Tuesday, January 23 at 7p.The newest additions include radio host, Silvia ‘La Bronca’ Del Valle, influencer Daniela ‘La Bebeshita’ Alexis; fitness trainer Carlos Gómez, and Mariana González, who has been referred to as the “Mexican Kim Kardashian.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Captain Lee Rosbach, a mainstay on Bravo’s “Below Deck” before he stepped down due to health concerns, is hosting a new true crime series for “Oxygen,” reports Deadline. “Deadly Water,” from Renowned Films (“Elvis’ Women”) and Critical Content (“Ginny & Georgia”) follows murders that take place in open waters.
(Source: Cynopsis)
In more Telemundo reality show news, dance competition “En Hoy Día Bailamos” is set to debut on the morning show “Hoy Día” on Monday, January 29 at 7a. The show will air weekdays, hosted by morning show personalities Penélope Menchaca and Daniel Arenas.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Yes, this is a real show,” says the trailer for “Flip a Coin,” an unscripted show premiering Wednesday, January 17 at 9:30p on Maximum Effort Channel. Each of the 12 half-hour episodes features Swedish actor/filmmaker Dolph Lundgren (“Expend4bles”) flipping a coin. “I am in this show. I don’t quite understand why, but they tell me it will be huge in Sweden,” said Lundgren. “This is a dream come true. I’ve loved flipping coins since I was a little kid.” Malin Ackerman (“Billions”) narrates the, um, action. Maximum Effort Channel is a partnership between Fubo and Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort.
(Source: Cynopsis)
WWE on A&E steps back into the ring beginning Sunday, February 25 with a new season of “WWE Rivals” at 8p followed by a new season of “Biography: WWE Legends” at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
All ten episodes of South Korean thriller series “A Bloody Lucky Day”premiere Thursday, February 1 on Paramount+. The show focuses on a taxi driver who finds himself playing mind games to save his life when he picks up a passenger who’s a serial killer.
(Source: Cynopsis)
But wait, there’s more! A three-episode series hosted by Dennis Miller (“SNL”), “The Infomercials That Sold Us,” dropped Wednesday on Fox Nation. The show looks back at the early years of the infomercial phenomenon, with a trailer that has Miller playing pitchman for Fox Nation.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Amazon Prime Video subscribers are now able to add Paramount+ Essential, AMC+ with Ads, and Max with Ads to their service, for $9.99, $4.99 and $5.99, respectively, per month. Previously, Prime Video subscribers could only opt for ad-free versions of the channels.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Prime Video competitor Walmart+ has enlisted Bravo’s Andy Cohen for a “Save Your Resolutions” campaign. Ads created by Deutsch LA are running on broadcast, Meta, TikTok and Pandora, encouraging viewers to sign up for Walmart+.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The NCAA National Championship game was the most-watched title game in four years, up 45% from the title game last year. Airing across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN Deportes, the game delivered 25.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The season 16 premiere of MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on January 5 was up 4% from the season prior in Live+3 Nielsens, earning the best TV share for any season premiere ever for the franchise. The series launched on Logo, ran on VH1 for seasons 9-14, and is in its second season on MTV.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Telemundo’s “Exatlón All-Stars” sports reality competition kicked off the year as the #1 program in Spanish-language television for the week of January 1. In its final weeks, the show delivered an average of 350,000 A18-49, and had its highest rated episodes of the season, averaging 373,000 A18-49 on January 2 followed by a record 382,000 A18-49 on January 4.
(Source: Cynopsis)
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD (SAG) NOMINATIONS 2024
https://www.eonline.com/news/1392793/sag-awards-2024-the-nominations-are-finally-her
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS NOMINATIONS 2024
https://www.eonline.com/news/1392489/2024-peoples-choice-awards-complete-list-of-nominees
Keely's Korner 