FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 7/27/17)
A&E: The First 48: Scared Silent (Premiere) at 10pm
LIFETIME: Date Night Live (Premiere) at 10pm
NBCSN: Grudge Race (Premiere) at 9pm
NBCSN: Journey To The Hammers (Premiere) at 11pm
REVOLT: Drink Champs (Premiere) at 10pm
LIFETIME: Married At First Sight (Finale) at 8pm
TRAVEL: Mysteries At The Museum (Finale) at 9pm
Viacom is reportedly making a $10.6 billion all-cash offer for Scripps Networks Interactive, according to Reuters, a proposal that could appeal to family members controlling Scripps looking for a cash deal. A deal with Discovery Communications would reportedly involve stock and cash. Over at Scripps, they’re not commenting on the headlines, just sticking to business as usual.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fox 21 Television responded to Olivia de Havilland’s request that an LA court judge speed up proceedings in her lawsuit against Ryan Murphy, Fox 21 and FX over her portrayal in Feud: Bette and Joan. The 101-year-old is asking for a jury trial in November, “based on her unusually advanced age.” Saying they would “vigorously defend” the project, the studio argues, “The law on this is very clear: no permissions of any kind were required in order to tell the tale….By the logic of Ms. de Havilland’s attorneys, no producer would be able to tell any stories about famous people, living or dead, without their consent.” De Havilland may not be a fan, but Feud was nominated for 18 Emmys.
(Source: Cynopsis)
TEGNA’s NBC affiliate in Sacramento, CA, today announced a partnership with millennial-focused, streaming financial news net Cheddar that makes KXTV the first local network affiliate to incorporate Cheddar Local segments into news broadcasts. Twice daily segments will feature the day’s top business headlines before the market opens and after it closes.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fusion TV joined more than 60 other companies and associations to launch the Creative Thread Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on breaking down barriers of entry for underrepresented content creators and those working behind the scenes in media. “We are committed to moving the dial when it comes to ensuring we see more accurate representation and diversity across the media and entertainment industries, but we know that it takes more than one company to make a difference,” said Henry Louis Gates Jr., who will serve as the Chair of the new Foundation.
(Source: Cynopsis)
OWN renewed Ava DuVernay’s hit drama Queen Sugar for season 3, and roped in DuVernay for a first-look deal with Harpo Films for TV and digital media. The season 2 premiere of Sugar in June delivered 2.3 million viewers, .7 among A18-49 and series high 2.09 in key OWN demo W25-54.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Animal Planet is promoting animal adoption with Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl, a football competition for adult dogs living in shelters that will be paired with the net’s popular Puppy Bowl. Hosted by animal advocate Jill Rappaport, the one-hour special will (spoiler alert) have a happy ending: all the competing shelter dogs find homes.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Animal Planet also announced a premiere date for new series Rescue Dog to Super Dog. The unscripted show that matches people with disabilities with shelter-turned-service dogs launches Saturday, August 12 at 10p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Comedy Central extended the first season of new late nighter The Jim Jefferies Show by 10 episodes. “I’m very grateful to Comedy Central for making our relationship more official,” said Jefferies. “Like all my relationships, I look forward to a few more months with Comedy Central before it starts crying outside of a bar at 2am. Or spray paints ‘liar’ on the side of my car.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
AMC is launching two viewer engagement initiatives. The Walking Dead Fan Rewards Club, coming in early September, will allow viewers to earn points toward virtual and actual goods by interacting with episodes, and a quarterly subscription box ($49.99/quarter) will include items like t-shirts, action figures and mugs. “Much has been written about the ‘Golden Age of Television,’ yet with more outlets for, and more consistent expressions of, passion for the content fan’s love, it has also become a ‘Golden Age of Fandom,’” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “The Fan Rewards Club and Subscription Box are two examples of extensions beyond the screen.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
The first 2 episodes of the fifth and final season of Showtime’s Episodes will be screened at the Paley Center for Media on August 16. Cast members, including Matt LeBlanc, as well as series creators will be on hand to watch and discuss. Show premieres on Showtime Sunday, August 20 at 10p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
AXS TV is presenting an “All Hail the King” block of Elvis Presley films every Tuesday in August, starting the first of the month with Elvis: That’s the Way It Is at 10p. Wednesday, August 16, the 40th anniversary of the singer’s death, will include a two-pack starting at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
New GSN game show Snap Decision launches Monday, August 7 with 4 back-to-back episodes starting at 9p, moving to its regular Tuesday-at-9p slot on August 8. David Alan Grier (The Carmichael Show) hosts.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Lifetime’s Date Night Live premieres tonight at 10p, but everything doesn’t come up roses for this show’s contestants. “Dating culture has become really ‘gamified’ in recent years with apps and people developing new dating benchmarks, so having the opportunity to show the good, the bad and the awkward in a live, unadorned format is incredibly fresh,” says President and founder of Big Fish Entertainment, Dan Cesareo. “Lifetime gave us the perfect platform to spotlight the ‘real’ in reality.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Tamron Hall may have left Today’s 9a hour early this year, but ID is keeping her busy. The journalist is back for season 5 of Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall on Sunday, September 3 at 10p. Hall also recently inked a deal with Weinstein Television to develop a daytime talk show.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Another Today alum, Ann Curry, is taking on a new job: host of PBS’s We’ll Meet Again, reports Variety. The 6-parter featuring reunions of people separated by historical events outside their control is slated for a 2018 debut.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Sibongile Mlambo (Black Sails) landed a series regular role on upcoming Freeform drama Siren….Li Jun Li (Quantico) also won a series regular role, on season 2 of Fox drama The Exorcist….Britt Robertson (Girlboss) will star in upcoming ABC midseason legal drama For the People. She replaces Britne Oldford, who starred in the pilot….Jaylen Moore was upped from recurring to series regular for season 2 of History’s Six.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The 5-minute trailer for season 8 of AMC’s The Walking Dead, debuted at Comic-Con, has been viewed online over 31 million times in 4 days, breaking its own record.
(Source: Cynopsis)
El Rey Network’s “The People’s Network Showcase” returns with “Suspense”, 12 films released both on-air and on El Rey’s YouTube page. The special features 2 hours of short films and interviews with rising independent filmmakers from around the world.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Reelz has launched on Sling TV, as it prepares to premiere new series The Kitty Kelley Files (July 29), Broke and Famous (September 8), US Weekly’s Famous Feuds (September 8), It Happened Here (November 10) and The Stalker Files (November 10). “We’re committed to growing our viewership with Sling TV and expanding our distribution at every turn,” said John DeGarmo, EVP of distribution.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Add CNN and Turner Sports to subscribers of Nielsen’s Out-of-Home Reporting Service, measuring viewers like businesspeople watching TV in offices, and sports fans cheering teams in bars. ESPN was first to jump aboard, in April.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Food Network Star posted a .7 rating among A25-54 (630,000 IMP) on Sunday night, ranking 6th among cable in the 9p time slot. On FoodNetwork.com, show content generated season-high traffic on Saturday, besting the previous season high by 15 percent.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The premiere of Descendants 2 across Disney Channel, ABC, Disney XD, Freeform, Lifetime and Lifetime Movies delivered a Live+3 audience of 21 million, up 61% from its Live+SD number.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bravo’s Below Deck Mediterranean was the highest rated episode of the season to-date among P25-54 and total viewers, delivering 1 million P18-49 in Live+3 (up +5% versus the prior week’s episode), 1.3 million P25-54 (up +4%), and 2 million total viewers (up +5%). The Real Housewives of New York City delivered a season high among all key demos, earning 1.3 million P18-49 (up +15% versus week ago), 1.6 million P25-54 (up +18%), and 2.7 million total viewers (up +13%).
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC summer drama Somewhere Between dropped from 2.9 million total viewers and a .5 rating among A18-49 on its Monday opener to 1.8 million viewers and a .3 rating for its second episode on Tuesday.
(Source: Cynopsis)
