PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Bryncoed Productions secured the rights to Ian Samson’s The County Guides To Murder. Screenwriter-playwright Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Jericho, Doctor Who) will adapt the books into a multi-part TV series. Centers on the People’s Professor, Swanton Morley, who compiles guides of the counties of England, while mysterious murders keep getting in the way.
Hivemind won an intense multi-studio bidding war and acquired the rights to bring hit Image Comic book series, Gideon Falls, to television in partnership with co-creators Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. The atmospheric thriller follows an ensemble cast of seemingly random strangers, who become drawn into a mystery connected to a long-forgotten local legend.
Showtime greenlit a 10-episode season of live-action scripted drama Halo (wt), based on the Xbox franchise from Kyle Killen (Awake), Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Planet of the Apes) and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Halo, which has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, reinvented how people think about video games. Series begins production in early 2019.
Amazon Studios ordered three young adult series. Panic, from Lauren Oliver and based on her best-selling book, centers on a forgotten rural town where every year graduating seniors risk their lives in an illegal, high-stakes game to win life-changing money. The Wilds, from Sarah Streicher (Daredevil) and a co-production with ABC Signature Studios, follows a group of teenage girls from radically different backgrounds who find themselves stranded on a remote island as part of an elaborate social experiment. College, from 6 Balloons filmmaker Marja-Lewis Ryan and producers Channing Tatum and Jill Soloway, takes a look at college campus life through the eyes of six roommates.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
American Horror Story revealed its Season 8 premiere on Facebook. The Ryan Murphy drama returns Wednesday, September 12 at 10p on FX. Although it doesn’t have a title, it will take place in the near-distant future and be a crossover of Season 1’s Murder House and Season 3’s Coven.
Bravo Media’s The Real Housewives of Dallas is back on Wednesday, August 15 at 9p. To prep viewers for the new season, The Real Housewives of Dallas: How They Got Here, featuring all the drama from the first two seasons, airs Wednesday, July 18 at 10p.
FX’s Mayans MC finally has a premiere date. The Sons of Anarchy spinoff airs Tuesday, September 4 at 10p.
HITN launches Puerto Rico Contigo on Sunday, July 1 at 10p. Series shares stories of recovery on the island by those who survived Hurricane Maria.
Barnwood Builders returns Sunday, July 15 at 9p on DIY Network. Follows Mark Bowe and his team as the reclaim centuries-old cabins and barns and transform them into modern structures.
Junked wrecks turn into cold hard cash on a new season of Junkyard Empire. Bows Wednesday, July 11 at 10p on Velocity.
Hip-Hop Houdini premieres on Tuesday, July 17 at 10p on Fuse. Features magician Smoothini and his brand of street magic.
The Purge, based on the hit movie franchise from Blumhouse Television and Universal Cable Productions, debuts Tuesday, September 4 at 10p on USA Network. Series revolves around a 12-hour period when all crime, including murder, is legal.
Aspire bows Unboxed with Nikki Chu on Tuesday, July 10 at 8p. Each week the celebrity designer will help one fan transform their space from outdated to on point.
COMING UP
Betty White: First Lady of Television premieres Tuesday, August 21 on PBS. (Check local listings.) Filmed over the course of five years by the team behind Pioneers of Television, the special takes a look at the life and career of the TV and film legend.
Seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of New York, actress-turned-politician Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) tells CBS Sunday Morning that running for office is “the biggest gamble of my life.” Airs Sunday, July 1 at 9a.
GetTV walks the line this summer with episodes of The Johnny Cash Show. Begins airing Sunday, July 8 at 10p.
FOX Business Network presents a special edition of Mornings with Maria live from the Cash Room of the United States Treasury Department on Friday, June 29 at 6a. Maria Bartiromo interviews White House Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House National Economic Director Larry Kudlow and others to discuss international trade and the state of the economy.
Smithsonian Channel premieres King of the Desert Lions on Wednesday, July 11 at 8p. Tells the story of five male cubs who grow up on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia and set out to search for their own desert kingdom.
Investigation Discovery airs serial killer special Bad Henry on Tuesday, July 24 at 9p. I Am Homicide’s Garry McFadden recounts the case that defined his career and nearly crippled a city.
STUNTS
Science Channel celebrates Independence Day with marathons featuring summer-themed episodes of How It’s Made (Sunday, July 1 at 1p), How the Universe Works (Monday, July 2 at 8a), Unearthed (Tuesday, July 3 at 6a) and What on Earth (Wednesday, July 4 at 3a). In addition, special America’s Greatest Wonder delves into the mysteries surrounding the Statue of Liberty on Tuesday, July 3 at 9p.
El Rey Network has special programming planned for the July 4th holiday, too; including a “Kaijuly Roarth” marathon beginning Sunday, July 1 at 6a and featuring films like Godzilla and Godzilla 2000. It’s followed up by the premiere of Xena: Warrior Princess on Tuesday, July 3 at 8p.
Fox News Channel presents special live programming of America’s News Headquarters to commemorate the 242st birthday of the United States on Saturday, June 30, Sunday, July 1, Monday, July 2, Tuesday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 4.
CASTING
Ismael Cruz Cordova (Ray Donovan) landed a series regular role on Epix spy drama Berlin Station… Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow) nabbed a starring role in HBO pilot Watchmen… Matt Borlenghi was upped to regular on YouTube Premium’s Now We Here.
ADVERTISING
Adult Swim’s Pocket Mortys continues to grow with an expansion into licensed consumer products created and developed around the 2016 mobile game and its characters. Symbiote Studios and Ripple Junction will be the first licensees to release plush and tees, respectively, beginning in July.
DIGITAL DATA
A new subscription service for DC comic fans is set to launch this fall. DC Universe, a one-stop-shop digital service, will stream original live action and animated series. Featured are Titans, Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing, as well as original animated series Young Justice: Outsiders and Harley Quinn.
HBO will air satirical Scandinavian sci-fi series Beforeigners on its digital platforms in the U.S. The company’s Nordic division ordered the series to air on HBO Go and HBO Now in The States as well as on its OTT service in Scandinavia and Spain and on its linear channels in Europe. Series explores a phenomenon that starts happening around the world, when powerful flashes of light occur in the ocean and people from the past appear.
A new report from The Information suggests that Apple is contemplating a subscription bundle that packages music streaming, magazine and upcoming VOD subscription services. It’s unclear how the offering would be priced, but the report notes that packaging music and video streaming would be similar to Amazon, YouTube and, to a lesser extent, Hulu, which offers its base tier streaming service as part of a package deal with Spotify Premium.
Pluto TV licensed more than 900 episodes of family-friendly programming from Litton Entertainment which becomes available to the free streaming television service in July. Package includes Lucky Dog with Bandon McMillan, The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation, Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown and more.
Zeus, the millennial-focused streaming service, announced its programming lineup for its launch on July 13. It includes original shows from social media standouts and Zeus co-founders King Bach (Your Best Life), Amanda Cerny (A Taste of Dance with Amanda Cerny) and DeStorm Power (Caught Season Two). Its roster of hosts also includes nine-year-old social media star Lil Tay and America’s Next Top Model alum Don Benjamin. Plus, there will be special appearances by Snoop Dogg and more.
Becoming a social media sensation with a few clicks of a button is now available at the tips of one’s fingers with Indi App. Indi.Com unveiled brand new app features designed to help make money on the content influencers are already posting on social media, build an online empire by effortlessly designing a personal brand, and get the at tension of favorite retailers and industry leaders through one flexible platform.
BritBox is bringing a pair of UK comedies to the U.S., debuting Bliss in August and Hold The Sunset in September. The SVOD also launches its first original series, The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, on July 26. The follow-up to The Bletchley Circle
follows original lead characters Millie and Jean as they travel to America and join forces with two codebreakers to tackle a string of new murder cases.
Ronny Chieng: International Student is coming to the Comedy Central App. The entire half-hour scripted series will be available for streaming on Monday, August 13.
GOING GLOBAL
Endemol Shine Group’s The Bridge landed its first European deal with Endemol Shine France commissioned to create their own version of the adventure reality show for M6.
Distribution 360 acquired Bristow Global Media’s It’s My Party! Series celebrates cultural diversity and embraces inclusivity.
UK producer Spun Gold Television was commissioned by Channel 5 to produce Eamonn and Ruth: How to Get a Good Sleep and another season of How the Other Half Lives.
BBC One ordered a one-off celebrity special of entertainment format All Together Now from Remarkable Television. Features famous faces wowing television’s largest judging panel, The 100.
Armoza Formats’ Curvy Supermodel is set to air two new seasons in Ukraine’s 1+1 and Germany’s RTLII. Nationwide casting show searches for the face of the future with power, style and curves.
Comedy Central is delving into live events in the UK with the launch of a three-day stand-up festival. Comedians Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard and Katherine Ryan are set to headline Comedy Central Live, which will take place October 5 to 7 in Southhampton.
