PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
NBC put in development Uninsured, a comedy from The Goldbergs writer/co-exec producer Dan Levy, exec producer Doug Robinson and Sony Pictures TV. Plot follows young parents who, in addition to raising their two kids, end up taking care of the husband’s parents.
In other Peacock news, NBC is adding five episodes to its original 13-ep order for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, bringing the total to 18 eps for the 2018-19 season. Season 6 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine will premiere midseason.
Barbara Hall, creator of CBS drama Madam Secretary, got a put pilot commitment from the network for new show Ms. Mayor, about a young activist who runs for mayor on a whim. Project hails from former CBS chairman Nina Tassler and producer Denise Di Novi via their PatMa Productions.
Simon Rich, creator of Man Seeking Woman, signed a two-year overall deal with ABC Studios. As part of the deal, he scored a put pilot commitment at ABC for his new family comedy headlined and produced by Kristen Schaal (The Last Man on Earth). Story is told from a child’s perspective and is about working together and overcoming adversity….Also at ABC, the network gave a script commitment plus penalty to comedy Can-Can, starring comedian Maysoon Zayid and created by writer Joanna Quraishi (Kevin Can Wait), Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner’s Hazy Mills (Hot In Cleveland, Grimm) and Universal TV. Can-Can follows the life of a Muslim woman who has cerebral palsy and is struggling to find love, a career path and her own unique identity.
2051, an animated workplace comedy from comedian Mo Mandel (Comedy Knockout), Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman) and 3 Arts Entertainment, is in development at Amazon. Series, written and exec-produced by Mandel, who also will voice a lead role, the show takes place in the futuristic 2051, where things have gone from bad to worse.
The CW put into development a drama inspired by Nancy Drew mysteries, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire and CBS TV Studios. New untitled take on the classic sleuth stories comes from by Noga Landau (The Magicians) and follows 18-year-old Nancy in the summer after her high school graduation.
Netflix snagged world rights to the film Lionheart prior to its Toronto premiere over the weekend. The film marks Netflix’s first film from Nigeria, as well as the directorial debut of Genevieve Nnaji.
UK indie TV content distributor Cineflix Rights signed a first-look development deal with Canadian producer Mayhem Entertainment. The partnership gives Cineflix Rights exclusive worldwide distribution rights to Mayhem’s upcoming shows, including new series The Dog Dudes.
Top 10 Weekend Domestic Box Office Estimates: September 7-9, 2018
The Nun (Warner Bros.) $53.5 million opening weekend
Crazy Rich Asians (Warner Bros.) $13.6 million (week 4), cume revenue $136.2 million
Peppermint (STX) $13.3 million opening weekend
The Meg (Warner Bros.) $6.0 million (week 5), cume revenue $131.6 million
Searching (SGem) $4.5 million (week 3), cume revenue $14.3 million
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount) $3.8 million (week 7), cume revenue $212.1 million
Disney’s Christopher Robin (Buena Vista) $3.2 million (week 6), cume revenue $91.7 million
Operation Finale (MGM) $3.1 million (week 2), cume revenue $14.1 million
Alpha (Studio 8) $2.5 million (week 4), cume $32.4 million
Blackkklansman (Focus Features) $1.6 million (week 5), cume revenue $43.5 million
Source: comScore
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Under the umbrella “Septiembre Imparable por Telemundo” (Unstoppable September), Telemundo on Tuesday, September 11 at 9p will premiere Falsa Identidad, a new series starring Luis Ernesto Franco and Camila Sodi as two strangers who come together to escape their enemies and survive. Then, after the finale of El Senor de los Cielos on September 24, 13-ep suspense series El Recluso bows Tuesday, September 25.
PBS’ The Great American Read returns with new episodes beginning Tuesday, September 11 at 8p. Hosted by Meredith Vieira, the eight-part series and nationwide campaign explores the power of books and the joy of reading through the lens of America’s 100 best-loved novels.
NBC dropped a three-minute promo for the upcoming season of its hit This Is Us, returning on Tuesday, September 25. Trailer features a flashback to Rebecca and Jack’s first date, and another back to Jack’s service in Vietnam. Newlyweds Kate and Toby are also shown, contemplating a family of their own.
TLC docuseries Long Lost Family, which features personal stories of people searching for family members after years of separation, returns with new two-hour eps beginning Monday, October 8 at 9p. This season, viewers will meet a woman who is desperately hoping to discover why her mother left her in a box, near a gas station, just hours after being born, and a man who at 49 years old, was traumatized to find out that he was adopted, among others.
COMING UP
Sunday nights on Telemundo will see the extension to three hours of competition series Exatlon starting Sunday, September 16… On September 12, Noticias Telemundo will launch Planeta Tierra, a multiplatform series of stories focused on climate change and environmental issues, and on September 29 Telemundo Deportes will premiere a new episode of Que Momento (What a Moment), a documentary-style sports production launched by the network last December, focusing on how France became champion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) booked a date on the Monday, September 10 telecast of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Booker serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee and has been an active participant in recent days during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh.
Filmmaker Michael Moore is scheduled for one-hour, primetime interview special All in America: Michael Moore in Trump Country on MSNBC this Wednesday, September 12, night after a screening in his hometown of Flint, Mich., of his Donald Trump doc Fahrenheit 11/9.
Remembering Reynolds: MeTV pays tribute to the life and legacy of Burt Reynolds with a special week of his memorable role in Gunsmoke. Six tribute eps starring Reynolds will air today (September 10) through Saturday, September 15, from 1-2p... getTV will salute Reynolds, who died last Thursday, by airing episodes from his classic TV detective series Dan August and Hawk on Saturday, September 15 and Saturday, September 22, beginning at noon.
WGN America is hosting a marathon of Married with Children on Saturday, September 15, 11a-11p, and Sunday, September 16, 9a-noon. The network will air 54 episodes of the long-running family sitcom in sequential order, beginning with the series’ first episode during its network debut.
Heavy metal and horror dude Rob Zombie will return for a second year to host HDNet Movies’ "13 Nights of Halloween," airing Octocber 19-31. The network will air a different film every evening at 9p, culminating in a marathon on Halloween. Highlights Include Zombie’s The Lords of Salem, The Evil Dead and The Blair Witch Project.
Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel will be available on DISH Network as a free preview through October 2.
KIDS NEWS
Disney Junior ordered more episodes of animated series Muppet Babies, Vampirina and Puppy Dog Pals. Together the three series already have delivered more than 360 million views on YouTube and social media platforms and nearly 140 million views on VOD, DisneyNOW and related Disney apps, according to the network.
CAKE will launch Total Dramarama, the prequel to the Total Drama franchise, at MIPCOM. Aimed at 6-11-year olds, Total Dramarama will re-introduce cast members in new adventures.
Digital kids’ network and studio WildBrain has been commissioned by indie media group and rights owner Coolabi Group to produce an original, 10-ep YouTube toy-play series for Coolabi’s preschool brand Clangers. New content is slated to launch on the official Clangers’ YouTube channel for Halloween 2018.
APC Kids, the children’s entertainment distribution company of About Premium Content, is launching production company Zephyr Animation. Based in Paris, the new studio will be headed by APC Kids’ partners Lionel Marty, Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel. David Sauerwein, former head writer for Xilam and Ubisoft, is joining the venture as chief creative officer. First project out of the stable is Adoonga, an animated comedy series from South Korean studio Vooz (creators of PUCCA).
DIGITAL DATA
AMC’s thriller content streaming service Shudder will bring back horror host Joe Bob Briggs for Thanksgiving and Christmas specials to be titled The Dinners of Death and A Very Joe Bob Christmas, respectively. Shudder also announced plans to launch a regular series featuring Briggs in 2019.
State of the Culture, the new unfiltered talk show created, exec-produced, and hosted by Joe Budden, will premiere on Revolt’s digital platforms every Monday at 5p beginning today (September 10), followed by the television premiere on Revolt every Tuesday at 10p, starting September 11. MC and media pundit Budden tapped fellow MC Remy Ma and radio/TV personality Scottie Beam to lend their voices to all things culturally relevant on the show.
Netflix released a trailer for Norm Macdonald Has a Show, which drops on the service Friday, September 14.
Facebook Watch set Saturday, September 22 as the premiere date for You Kiddin' Me?!, Kim Kardashian West’s weekly prank show. Celeb guest lineup includes (surprise!) the Kardashian-Jenners, Zoe Saldana and Lisa Rinna.
Facebook ate a little crow after it removed Burt Reynolds’ iconic ‘70s Cosmopolitan centerfold shot from posts that surfaced in tribute after the actor died last week at age 82. A spokesperson for the company apologized via a statement after several users complained. Facebook has a “no nudity” policy, but Facebook said the photos of Reynolds were “mistakenly removed.”
The Xfinity Stream beta app is now available to download on 2018 and 2017 Samsung Smart TVs, providing Xfinity TV customers with greater choice in how they access their cable subscription.
CASTING
Timothy Granaderos, who recurred in the first two seasons, and Brenda Strong, who recurred in season 2, are in as series regulars for the upcoming third season of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why…. Cosby Show alum Geoffrey Owens will appear in 10 episodes of season 6 of Tyler Perry’s OWN series The Haves And the Have Nots. Owens was job-shamed, then celebrated, for working at Trader Joe’s….Freeform drama The Bold Type snagged new cast members for season 3. Joining as recurring characters are Peter Vack and newcomer Alexis Floyd.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Britain’s Channel 5 lured former BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman is at work on two-part doc All The Queen's Children for the broadcaster.