FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 4/18/24)
FREEVEE: Dinner with the Parents (Premiere)
LIFETIME: Theresa Caputo: Beyond the Readings (Premiere) at 9pm
MAX: Conan O’Brien Must Go (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Bros (Premiere)
NETFLIX: The Upshaws (Premiere)
PEACOCK: Orlando Bloom: To the Edge (Premiere)
PEACOCK: Superbuns (Premiere)
PRIME VIDEO: Going Home with Tyler Cameron (Premiere)
SUNDANCE TV: True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here (Premiere) at 10pm
Lionsgate is on track to spin off its film and TV studios business in a Special Purpose Acquisition Company. In an SEC filing, SPAC Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp. said the registration for the proposed merger has been declared effective by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal creating Lionsgate Studios is expected to close in early May.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Bob Hearts Abishola” is wrapping its run after five seasons on CBS,but the Chuck Lorre comedy will live on in syndication. Station groups including Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, Hearst Television, Tegna, E.W. Scripps, Weigel Broadcasting, Sunbeam Television, Gray Television, Mission Broadcasting, Lockwood Broadcast Group and Bahakel Broadcasting will carry the show, said Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales. “From the authentic perspective our cast brings to their roles to the rich cultural experience our writers and crew bring to life each week, ‘Bob Hearts Abishola’ has truly shown that immigrants make America great, and that love comes in many forms,” said Lorre. “I’m happy that audiences will be able to continue to enjoy these beautiful stories in syndication for years to come.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Apple TV+ has renewed space drama “For All Mankind” for a fifth season, and announced spinoff series “Star City.” “For All Mankind” creators Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi will showrun the new series, produced for Apple TV+ by Sony Pictures Television “Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of ‘For All Mankind,’” said executive producers Wolpert and Nedivi. “The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race. We could not be more excited to continue building out the alternate history universe of ‘For All Mankind’ with our partners at Apple and Sony.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The writers of MTV clip show “Ridiculousness,” who voted to organize under the Writers Guild West of America West last year, scored a contract that covers minimum compensation, residuals, benefits, AI regulations and more. “The writers of ‘Ridiculousness’ have shown incredible unity, courage and resolve throughout their organizing campaign for a Guild contract,” said WGAW President Meredith Stiehm. “I’m proud to welcome them into our union.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
PBS KIDS is integrating American Sign Language interpretations into six series that will be available for free on PBS KIDS digital streaming platforms starting today. Series include “Work It Out Wombats!”, “Pinkalicious & Peterrific,” “Arthur,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Donkey Hodie” and “Alma’s Way.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
National Geographic greenlit “The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Awful Truth” (w/t), following the story of Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who in 1971 paid two dozen college-aged participants to live in a mock prison, observing how randomly assigned “prisoner” and “guard” roles influenced behavior. The series “pushes the boundaries of storytelling while shedding new light on a pivotal moment in psychological history,” said Tom McDonald, EVP of Global Factual and Unscripted Content, National Geographic. “Through the voices of those who lived it, we, along with our longtime partners at Muck Media, invite audiences to reexamine the Stanford Prison Experiment and confront the truths that lie beneath the surface.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Comedy Central gave a 10-episode order to “Golden Axe,” an animated series based on the 1989 Sega video game series. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”) stars as a grumpy battle dwarf with exceptionally poor hygiene and a chip on his shoulder. The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television and Original Film.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, cowriter and director of “Oldboy,”and his producing partner Syd Lim are developing an English-language series adaptation of the film with Lionsgate Television. “Lionsgate Television shares my creative vision for bringing ‘Oldboy’ into the world of television,” said Park. “I look forward to working with a studio whose brand stands for bold, original and risk-taking storytelling.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Critical Content is launching an international growth initiative that calls for the Critical Content formats to travel to international territories. The initial round of alignments includes a first-look production deal with France’s ITV Studios France and a first-look distribution deal with Belgium’s Be-Entertainment for formats landing on their DPG Media Channels. Stéfanie Gelinas, Critical Content’s recently appointed EVP of Global Formats & Development, will help oversee the slates and procure further deals.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hallmark Media has added new participants to its Make Her MarkWomen’s Directing Program during its inaugural year. Kay Metchie recently shadowed director Mike Rohl on the set of Hallmark Mystery’s “The Cases of Mystery Lane: Death is Listening,” while Eva Tavares will shadow director Peter Benson on an untitled 2024 Countdown to Christmas movie heading into production this month.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Independent television studio Future Shack Entertainment, along with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s production company, A Touch More, are partnering to develop the novel Cleat Cute from author Meryl Wilsner. “Sports is a universal language and breeding ground for world class storytelling. As women’s sports captivate audiences around the globe, we’re proud to partner with two of the most iconic athletes of our time, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird, to bring Meryl Wilsner’s delightful world to life in a bold, sexy and fun ensemble show,” said Jeff Wachtel, Future Shack’s CEO.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Joining the cast of FX’s “Dying for Sex” in recurring roles are Rob Delaney (“Catastrophe”), David Rasche (“Succession”) and Esco Jouley (“State of the Union”). The drama stars Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paranormal investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley return for a new season of “Ghost Adventures,” premiering Wednesday, May 15 at 9p on Discovery with a special two-hour episode.
(Source: Cynopsis)
National Geographic will honor overlooked Allied soldiers of color with two new specials airing Monday, June 3. “Erased: WW 2’s Heroes of Color,” a four-part docuseries executive produced and narrated by Idris Elba (“Hijack”), airs at 9p, following “The Red Tails,” a documentary narrated by Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) at 8p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season three of game show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” premieres Thursday, May 23 at 9p on Fox. Niecy Nash hosts.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The third and final season of fantasy drama “Sweet Tooth” debuts Thursday, June 6 on Netflix. Kelly Marie Tran (“Sorry For Your Loss”) is joining the show as a series regular.
(Source: Cynopsis)
New episodes of docuseries “Behind the Music” will premiere on Paramount+ on Wednesday, May 1. The new episodes profile Bell Biv DeVoe, Trace Adkins and Wolfgang Van Halen, while remastered episodes feature 50 Cent, Bobby Brown, Ice-T, Milli Vanilli, The Notorious B.I.G. and Sinead O’Connor.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC’s “Time 100: The World’s Most Influential People” special will air Sunday, May 12 at 10p. Taraji P. Henson (“The Color Purple”) is set to host the show, for its fifth year on ABC.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Dutton Ranch from MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” returns to the desert for country music’s sold-out Stagecoach Festival, taking place April 26-26 in Indio, CA. Stagecoach attendees will have the opportunity to take part in photo moments from “Yellowstone” and “1923,” meet cast members and more.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Iliza Shlesinger will tape a comedy special for Prime Video on November 2, as part of her The Get Ready Tour. It’s Shlesinger’s first special for the streamer, but the comedian has racked up six for Netflix.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Chipotle Mexican Grill is holding a “Wear Your Hockey Jersey” day,offering a buy one, get one free deal on entrees to in-restaurant diners who don a hockey jersey on Monday, April 22 after 3p local time. The promotion is valid at all participating Chipotle restaurants in the US and Canada.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ESPN’s broadcast of the WNBA draft on Monday drew a record 2.45 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s up 304% over the second-most-viewed WNBA draft, in 2004.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Live with Kelly and Mark” reached the one-year anniversary of Kelly Ripa and Mark Conseulos co-hosting together to continue as the number one entertainment talk show on television, and increasing in Total Viewers by 3% year over year (2.288 million vs. 2.229 million).
(Source: Cynopsis)
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