PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Hulu issued a straight-to-series order to Normal People. The 12-episode, half hour drama is being adapted from Sally Rooney’s NY Times bestselling novel by Element Pictures in association with BBC Three. It tracks the tender but complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days in a small-town west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College.
Bravo taps into the cultural zeitgeist with bold new experiment In A Man’s World. From executive producer Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s Juvee Productions and Lucky 8, the series centers on four dynamic women who temporarily transform into men for several days after months of training. The series is set to premiere this fall.
Monica Potter (Parenthood), Brooke Elliott (Drop Dead Diva) and Heather Headley (Chicago Med) will headline upcoming Netflix series Sweet Magnolias, reports Deadline. Based on Sherryl Woods’ popular series of novels, the project is set in the s mall town of Serenity, SC and centers around three women who have been best friends from childhood. Woods will executive produce with Sheryl J. Anderson, who also serves as showrunner.
Talks are in the works to bring back limited series Patrick Melrose, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for more episodes, according to Deadline. The project was initially set up as a five-episode order with each episode based on one of Edward St. Aubyn’s novels, and all of those novels were used for David Nicholls’ adaptation. However, Cumberbatch and producers are looking for ways to carry the story forward.
RTE and Acorn Media Enterprises partnered to commission Dead Still, an Irish period mystery with Dublin-based Deadpan Pictures and Toronto-based Shaftesbury co-producing alongside ZDF Enterprises. Set in 1880s Ireland in the Victorian era heyday, the six-episode drama follows a renowned memorial photographer as he investigates the murders of his recently deceased subjects. Written by John Morton and directed by Imogen Murphy (Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope, Red Rock), Dead Still, will premiere in 2020 on RTE in Ireland and Acorn TV in the U.S.
Disney XD ordered a third season of Marvel’s Spider Man. The latest installment of the animated series is slated to premiere in spring 2020.
Showtime greenlit half-hour comedy series Work in Progress, created by Abby McEnany and Tim Mason. McEnany stars in the series, expected to premiere later this year, while Mason directed the pilot. Lilly Wachowski (The Matrix, Sense8) will co-write the first season and executive produce with McEnany and Mason. The series features McEnany as a 45-year-old self-identified fat, queer dyke from Chicago whose misfortune and despair lead her to a vibrantly transformative relationship.
Celebrate the Top Women in Sports honorees (list here) along with the remaining Top Women in Media honorees to be announced in mid-June. Let’s celebrate! Reserve your table today for the Top Women in Media Awards Gala Dinner September 9 from 5:45-8P in Tribeca, NYC.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
MTV shatters barriers with the first sexually fluid reality dating competition Are You the One?, debuting Wednesday, June 26 at 9p. Hosted by Terrence J., the show features 16 singles heading off to Hawaii in hopes of finding their perfect match and splitting a $1 million cash prize.
Expert craftsman and survivalist Marty Raney, alongside his daughter Misty and son Matt, return to help families sharpen their homesteading skills and learn to survive off-the-grid in the new season of Homestead Rescue, bowing Wednesday, June 12 at 10p on Discovery Channel.
Paramount Network debuts Marriage Rescue on Sunday, June 2 at 10p, the new series that expands the network’s popular Bar Rescue franchise. Marriage Rescue is produced by 3 Ball Entertainment and features Jon Taffer diffusing conflict among newlyweds and couples who’ve been married for decades alike, while at a beach resort in the Caribbean. “Believe it or not, for Jon and our team, rescuing marriages was the obvious next step for this franchise,” says Ross Weintraub, 3 Ball Entertainment CEO and Marriage Rescue Executive Producer. “We’re closing in on 200 episodes of Bar Rescue, and in almost every case, Jon has to work toward mending some type of relationship – whether it’s simply the bar owner and their staff, or business partners, or the family that owns and operates the establishment. Marriage Rescue gives us the opportunity to dive deeper into that aspect of the franchise and explore it new ways, through a variety of intense tests and challenges – all part of Jon’s direct, unapologetic and incredibly effective approach.”
Over-the-top brides wreaking havoc are back with all new epic meltdowns, when WEtv’s Bridezillas returns Friday, June 14 at 10p.
License to Kill bows Sunday, June 23 at 7p on Oxygen. Hosted by renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow, the series chronicles harrowing accounts of patients put in jeopardy by medical professionals’ insidious use of their expertise.
ABC gives viewers a special early premiere of Press Your Luck on Tuesday, June 11 at 10p. Hosted by Elizabeth Banks, the game show is a mix of wits, strategy and high stakes as contestants try to avoid the WHAMMY for a chance at cash and prizes.
Discovery En Espanol brings audiences inside the world of major league soccer with Acceso Exclusivo. Premiering Tuesday, June 4 at 7p, the new series gives viewers unrestricted access inside the locker room and into players’ homes to witness the journey from talented individuals to Cup-worthy team.
COMING UP
TNT and B/R Live showcases UEFA Champions League Final – Liverpool vs. Tottenham – on Saturday, June 1 at 3p. B/R Football Matchday presented by Pepsi will preview the action with a special 90-minute show, live from Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain at 1:30p.
FOX News Channel presents a town hall with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday, June 2 at 7p. FOX News Sunday’s Chris Wallace will moderate the one-hour segment held live from Iowa. (Check local listings for times.)
Whether you’re from the agency, ad-tech, data analytics, publishing, consulting, broadcasting, content creation or streaming side, you need to hone your understanding of the metrics. Reserve your seat at the third annual Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference June 11 in NYC – less than two weeks away! Sign up today and level up your skills.
CASTING
Downton Abbey vet Jessica Brown Findlay was cast as the female lead in USA Network’s Brave New World… Shudder’s Creepshow anthology series added David Arquette (Scream franchise), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica, Lucifer) and Dana Gould (The Simpsons, Stan Against Evil) to its cast…
TECH TALK
Blockgraph released Building the Future of Data Driven TV: The Quest to Create a Safe Identity Layer for the Industry, a report that offers advice for companies moving towards the data-driven future and the findings from a survey of over 150 advertisers and agencies commissioned from Advertiser Perceptions. According to the survey, the mean percentage of advertisers’ total TV spend that is data-enabled has grown at a 42% three-year compound annual growth rate, and it appears that growth is about to accelerate in 2020 as evidenced by key findings. Namely, there was 20% TV spend data-enabled in 2018; 29% in 2019, and is expected to be 40% in 2020. The whitepaper explains how Blockgraph creates industry-wide value in The New TV ecosystem by addressing many of the key challenges of data sharing and identity resolution. By connecting data across the entire TV ecosystem, while protecting data ownership, Blockgraph’s common identity layer will enable TV to pair its historical strengths – including providing marketers a high quality, brand-safe engaging platform to efficiently re ach large audiences – with the breadth and depth of data insights necessary for audience-based, data-driven TV planning, execution, measurement and attribution.
“Our research confirmed that advertisers are optimistic about applying data to TV as they shift toward audience-based buying, expecting as much as 40% of their TV ad spend being data enabled by as early as 2020. However, they also recognize that a number of challenges must be solved before TV can realize its full, data driven potential,” said Jason Manningham, General Manager, Blockgraph.
DIGITAL DATA
Of its 82 million viewers, Hulu says 70% are on its ad-supported plan. While Hulu sells an ad-free version of its streaming service for $11.99 a month, the majority of subscribers are on the $5.99-per-month ad-supported plan. Hulu’s ad business is a significant source of revenue, generating almost $1.5 billion in ad revenue in 2018.
Netflix released a teaser for Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, launching Friday, August 30. The series centers on three Gelfing who discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis’ power and set out on a journey to ignite a rebellion and save the world.
Hulu set Friday, August 16 as the premiere date for The Amazing Johnathan Documentary, both theatrically across key markets in the U.S. and on the streamer. The doc centers on a uniquely deranged musician, who built a career out of shock and deception in the 1980s.
CBC Sports and National Pro Fastpitch teamed to provide live streaming coverage of Canada’s national softball team. The games available via CBC Sports will stream within Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Gem streaming service, and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices.
Good Omens debuts on Amazon Prime on Friday, May 31. The six-part series is based on the comic novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon.
Marvel inked a new audiobook content deal with Dreamscape Media. Through the multi-book agreement, Dreamscape Media will produce, publish and distribute new audiobooks for the company’s iconic character universe. The partnership will span nearly 25 original, new audiobook recordings of Marvel’s classic and iconic prose stories from the works of David Michelinie, Tony Isabella, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman and Peter David. The audiobooks will be available on hoopla digital to library patrons, and for purchase everywhere physical and digital audiobooks are sold including Amazon, Audible, iBooks and Google.
KID STUFF
Cartoon Network is expanding the storytelling for We Bare Bears. We Bare Bears The Movie, created by Daniel Chong, is in production. Meanwhile, a spinoff series focused on the baby bear characters is currently in the works at Cartoon Network Studios.
GOING GLOBAL
Canadian police procedural drama Hudson & Rex was renewed for a second season by Citytv, just six episodes into its 16-episode first season. It is the network’s highest-rated original scripted series since 2015.
British broadcaster ITV ordered Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow, which will feature classic gameshows supersized and brought together. Rebooted American favorites The Price Is Right, Strike It Lucky and Play Your Cards Right are part of the mix, as well as British formats Take Your Pick and Bullseye. Fremantle-owned Talkback is producing the project.
Corus Entertainment announced its 2019-2020 order of Canadian series with a slate that features 40 newly commissioned series and titles. Among the highlights are drama Nurses and Canada/UK co-production Departure, starring Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer. Returning seasons of Private Eyes and Vikings were also ordered.
Meanwhile, Global’s new 2019-2020 lineup will feature new crime thriller Prodigal Son; the final season of Modern Family and sophomore season of Single Parents; and new single-camera comedy The Unicorn starring Walton Goggins (Justified).
