FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (MONDAY 7/6/26)
ACORN TV: Inspector Ellis (Premiere)
Comcast is spinning off NBCUniversal into a standalone publicly traded company.
· The deal ends a 15-year arrangement combining NBCUniversal’s film and TV assets with Comcast’s connectivity business. Comcast took a controlling stake in NBCU from General Electric in 2011 and purchased the remaining 49% in 2013.
· The move follows Comcast’s earlier spinoff this year of cable networks including MS NOW, CNBC and USA into a separate company, Versant.
· Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts will remain involved in leadership at both companies post-split. Mike Cavanagh, currently Comcast co-CEO, will become CEO of NBCUniversal. Michael Angelakis, a former Comcast CFO, will take over as Comcast’s chief executive.
· The deal is expected to close within a year. Comcast will retain a 19.9 % stake in NBCUniversal for up to a year.
· Analysts are speculating about merger partners for Comcast, though an NBCUniversal tie-up with a media rival is tricky given strict broadcast ownership rules.
· Sources tell Reuters NBCU is considering looking into opportunities in digital gaming and new entertainment franchises, while Comcast’s cable and connectivity business would benefit from technological investments that could capitalize on the surge in data centers and AI.
· The Takeaway: Comcast is doubling down on separating its faster-growing broadband and wireless business from legacy entertainment and TV assets, following the same playbook it used with Versant earlier this year, as traditional media companies increasingly split off their content arms to let connectivity businesses operate independently.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Return to Fox Hollow: New Victims, Darker Secrets,” picking up where docuseries “The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer” left off, dives deeper into Herb Baumeister’s killing spree. The four-parter hits Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 8.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“The Greatest,” a drama exploring the life of Muhammad Ali, debuts Wednesday, November 4 on Prime Video. The first authorized scripted series about the boxing legend stars Jaalen Best (“All American: Homecoming”).
(Source: Cynopsis)
Prime Video also set the date for a documentary following the journey of another GOAT. “Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter” launches Thursday, August 20.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Crime drama “The Westies” premieres with two episodes Sunday, July 12 on MGM+, following the violent Irish gang during the 1980s construction of New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Vertical series “Tides of Temptation” launches Tuesday, July 7 on the Microhouse Films platform. The drama — developed alongside Lifetime’s upcoming original movie, “Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You” and set in the same story world — will serve as a tentpole title for Microhouse and will be one of seven original projects debuting on launch day.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Kitchen Undercover,” a sneak-attack restaurant rescue series following chef Antonia Lofaso and sous-chef Nestor Milian as they go undercover to help failing restaurants, debuts Tuesday, July 28 at 9 p.m. on Food Network.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Impractical Jokers” returns to TBS for Season 13 on Thursday, July 23 at 10 p.m. The hidden-camera comedy ranks as cable’s No. 1 original series.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ID set return dates for three true crime series. “Body Cam” is back Wednesday, July 15 at 9 p.m., followed by “9-1-1: Did the Killer Call?” at 10 p.m. Season 2 of “Killer Among Friends” premieres Monday, July 20 at 9 p.m.
(Source: Cynopsis)
UPtv has two premiere dates to share. Season 8 of “Hudson & Rex” makes its U.S. cable debut on Thursday, August 6 at 8 p.m. The Canadian police procedural airs on Citytv. A week later brings the series debut of mystery drama “Blue Skies,” on August 13 at 9 p.m.
(Source: Cynopsis)
History Channel’s “Modern Marvels” franchise returns with three-part limited series “Modern Marvels: WWII” on Monday, July 27 at 10 p.m.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bravo has acquired “The Real Housewives of London” from NBCUniversal’s reality SVOD service, Hayu. The show kicks off with a special presentation on Tuesday, July 21 at 9 p.m., moving to its regular time slot on Tuesday, August 4 at 8 p.m.
(Source: Cynopsis)
MS NOW’s “The Weekend: Primetime” has ended its run. The program is the latest casualty in a broader weekend realignment at the network, as taped video podcasts fill more airtime.
· Alex Witt, a network stalwart since 1999, has announced her departure later this summer.
· MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler framed the changes in a staff memo as a reallocation of weekend resources to support a “significant investment” in the network’s direct-to-consumer offering, along with new programming, content partnerships, and live audience experiences. She said the move would affect “a small number of employees.”
· “Crooked Media on MS NOW,” which launched in February and pulls highlights across Crooked Media’s podcast lineup, is cited as the network’s strongest taped-series launch among total viewers in three years and in the 25–54 demo in four years — a bright spot the memo notably highlights.
· The Takeaway: MS NOW is thinning its weekend linear lineup to redirect resources toward a forthcoming DTC product — a familiar playbook as legacy cable networks reckon with shrinking traditional audiences. The Crooked Media partnership’s early ratings performance suggests the network sees content deals as a key lever even as it cuts in-house talent costs.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Ashley Tisdale is bringing her viral “toxic mom group” saga to Netflix. The “High School Musical” alum will EP and is expected to star in “Toxic Moms,” a half-hour comedy in development about a sleep-deprived new mom drawn into a clique of wealthy mothers who reveal their darker side. Sabrina Jalees (“Search Party”) penned the script; Ali Wong(“BEEF”) is on board as EP and eyed to direct. The project stems from Tisdale’s January essay in The Cut detailing her real-life experience being iced out by a celebrity mom clique.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Starz buried the competition for “Bone Parish.” After winning a heated bidding war, Starz is adapting Bone Parish — BOOM! Studios’ supernatural crime graphic novel — with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson exec producing via his G-Unit Film & Television, deepening his ongoing partnership with the network. Running the show: Diane Ademu-John and Declan de Barra (“Dune: Prophecy”) as co-showrunners and EPs, joined by BOOM!’s Stephen Christy and Mette Norkjaer.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount+ has ordered a new docuseries chronicling the Texas Tech University football team, from director and showrunner Micah Brown (“Coach Prime”). Produced by Skydance Sports, the four-parter is expected to kick off ahead of this year’s college football season.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Warner Bros. Animation is bringing back Barnabas Collins, the tortured vampire at the heart of campy cult classic “Dark Shadows,” as an adult animated series now in development. The gothic soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from 1966-71, has gotten the big screen treatment, too — in 2012, Tim Burton directed a film starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Starz has signed on as co-production partner for “Maya,” a six-part drama commissioned by Channel 4. The series will air exclusively on Starz in the U.S. and Canada, with a premiere on Channel 4 in the UK and Ireland.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Blink49 Creator Studios and 1Community are co-financing an untitled documentary about the New York Knicks’ first NBA championship in over half a century, directed by Travon Free (“Two Distant Strangers”) via his The Unreasnble banner, in partnership with Outerboro Films.
(Source: Cynopsis)
HappyNest Entertainment announced an expanded development slate featuring legacy and original IP. The slate includes the youth brand Space Camp, projects based on the works of author R.L. Stine, and the graphic novel series Louie and Bear, which are currently in early development.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Adult Swim greenlit “Heist Brothers,” an animated action comedy from Genndy Tartakovsky (“Dexter’s Laboratory”). The series, following three bank-robbing frog brothers, is in production at Cartoon Network Studios.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Prime Video Sports has NBA Summer League locked down — 38 games, 10 straight days, July 9–18. It all tips off in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 9 at 3:30 p.m. with the Timberwolves taking on the Pelicans.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Padel Time TV has struck a deal with Samsung TV to launch in the UK for the first time, marking the latest step in its ambitious global rollout strategy. The UK launch follows Padel Time TV’s debut in India earlier this month on JioTV and JioTV+, with further international expansion planned this year.’
(Source: Cynopsis)
Prime Video tapped Las Vegas Aces point guard Chelsea Gray to serve as a WNBA on Prime player contributor. Gray will make select appearances during the 2026 WNBA season.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The USMNT’s World Cup Round of 32 victory on Wednesday drew 24.4 million viewers for Fox, FS1 and Tubi, making it the most-watched soccer telecast in English-language U.S. history. Peak audience: 31.883 million viewers from 9:45-10:00 p.m.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Round of 32 victory over Ecuador delivered an 18.9 million Total Audience Delivery (TAD) on Telemundo and Peacock, making it the most-watched soccer match in total audience in Spanish-language media history. Mexico vs. Ecuador also delivered a 35% increase over Mexico’s previously most-watched match record set on June 18. That’s in addition to the 10.4 million viewers English-language viewers who watched the match on Fox.
(Source: Cynopsis)
No surprise here — World Cup soccer dominated the ratings the week of June 22, taking up 7 out of the top 10 viewership slots. Fox’s Turkey-US match on Thursday topped the chart, with 17.02 million total viewers. “ABC World News Tonight” nabbed slots 3 (7.86 million viewers) and 4 (7.27 million), while “NBC Nightly News” placed tenth with an audience of 6.34 million.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Across 12 Paramount networks, the “BET Awards” drew 2.2 million viewers. On BET, P18-49 impressions were up 50% versus last year, to 624,000.
(Source: Cynopsis)
POWERBALL
Today’s Jackpot is $416 million.
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NYLottery.NY.gov
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
Minions & Monsters – $37 million
Toy Story 5 – $30.3 million
Young Washington – $19.4 million
Supergirl – $8.6 million
Disclosure Day – $5.7 million
(Source: Box Office Mojo)
Keely's Korner 