Today’s Premieres
Apple TV+: Severance; Lincoln’s Dilemma
discovery+: Uprooted; Extraordinary Stories Behind Everyday Things
Disney+: The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
HBO: Painting With John at 11p
Netflix: The Cuphead Show!; Spaceforce
Prime Video: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; LOL: Last One Laughing Canada; Lov3

Sunday’s Premieres
CNN: LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy
Epix: From at 9p
History Channel: Abraham Lincoln at 8p; I Was There at 10:30p
ID: Evil Lives Here at 9p; On the Case With Paula Zahn at 10p

Sunday’s Finales
CW: Two Sentence Horror Stories at 9:30p
PBS: Around the World in 80 Days on Masterpiece at 9p; All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece at 10p
Showtime: We Need to Talk About Cosby at 10p
TLC: Sister Wives at 10p

Monday’s Premieres
Acorn TV: Conviction: The Case of Stephen Lawrence
Bravo: Below Deck Sailing Yacht at 8p
CW: All American: Homecoming at 9p
HGTV: 100 Day Dream Home at 8p
ID: Curse of the Chippendales at 9p
NBC: America’s Got Talent: Extreme at 8p; The Endgame at 10p
VH1: Black Ink Crew: New York at 8p; Black Ink Crew: Compton at 9p
Vice: Devoured at 10p

Monday’s Finale
Food Network: Kids Baking Championship at 8p

IN THE NEWS

AMC Networks is offering addressable ad slots in every hour of its original programming on AMC and WE tv in 2022, the company announced. Amazon is the first client to leverage the capability, with a year-long relationship across multiple shows. Offered in partnership with Canoe Ventures, the spots will run on Comcast, Charter and Cox cable systems, reaching more than 35 million homes in the U.S, with further expansion through the Go Addressable initiative. Three ad slots in every hour of original programming over the course of the year will be fully addressable. In addition, AMC will be using data company 605 to handle the attribution for the program to track and measure the results as the campaign progresses.

“2022 will be the biggest year of original programming in our company’s history, and we are meeting that moment with the most valuable and relevant ads that have ever been possible on linear television, fully addressable spots reaching tens of millions of homes in every hour of original programming on AMC and WE tv,” said Evan Adlman, SVP of advanced advertising and digital partnerships for AMC Networks. “This is the culmination of years of work and planning, building most recently on the first national addressable campaigns we ran in partnership with Canoe in late 2020 and earlier this year.”

Multicultural audiences are embracing over-the-air antennas, according to Horowitz Research’s State of the Art OTA 2021 study. Two in ten (21%) Black and 33% of Latinx and Asian cord-cutters, respectively, use an over-the-air antenna, which translates to 2.5 million Black, 5.7 million Latinx, and 2.3 million Asian adults using the technology to access free over-the-air live, linear content. Among Black, Latinx, and Asian cord-cutters, having access to local broadcast channels is the main driver for getting an antenna, with 8 in 10 consumers across these groups citing this as a reason to have one and almost 6 in 10 consumers in each of these groups citing local broadcast as the main reason they have an antenna. Local news, specifically, is important to most Black (76%), Latinx (68%), and Asian (82%) cord-cutters, and local and regional sports content is important to about 6 in 10 Black and Latinx cord-cutters.

January 2022 ad spend surpassed January 2021, growing +19% year-over-year, according to Standard Media Index. SMI also found:
· Digital remained the only channel with double-digit quarterly increases vs. the prior year, going back to 4Q20.
· Linear TV also contributed to the upward momentum across channels YoY, as Broadcast TV (+19%) offset modest Cable TV decline (-3%).
· OOH continues to make positive upward strides, rising +133% in January 2022 YoY.
· Auto was the only category to experience a reduction in ad revenue, -7% vs. Jan 2021.

“TV is leading entertainment in telling LGBTQ stories,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, in the advocacy group’s “Where We Are on TV” report. Netflix ranked first, with 155 regularly seen LGBTQ characters in its original comedy and drama series. Prime time series on ABC, CBS, Fox, CW and NBC had 141 LGBTQ characters combined.

Actor Rockmond Dunbar has filed a lawsuit against Fox and Disney, accusing them of racial discrimination by not granting him a religious and medial exemption to a vaccine mandate. Dunbar, a former cast member of “9-1-1,” says his dismissal has damaged his career.

Super Bowl campaigns by brands that didn’t feature celebrities were at a disadvantage on social media this year, according to ListenFirst. Brands that used celebs in their ads averaged 6,493 engagements per post about their campaign, between January 1-February 13, while brands without starpower averaged 2,024 engagements per Super Bowl campaign related social post. Getting celebrities in the social media game helps – brands that had celebrities post on their own social media accounts got 4.95 times more engagement than those who posted from their own accounts.

Roku reported quarterly revenue growth of 33% in 4Q21, versus 51% in the third quarter and 81% in 2Q21. Blame supply shortages, said the company in a letter to shareholders. “Similar to Q3, overall US TV unit sales in Q4 fell below pre-COVID 2019 levels,” wrote Anthony Wood, Roku’s Founder and CEO, and Steve Louden, its finance chief. “Some of our Roku TV OEM partners were hit particularly hard with inventory challenges, which negatively impacted their unit sales figures and market share in Q4.” Roku reported 60.1 million active accounts, up 17% year-over-year.

Guests of honor at the Series Mania Festival, taking March 18-25 in Lille, France, include British showrunner Michael Hirst (“The Tudors,” “Vikings”), as well as French producer, director, screenwriter and actor Mathieu Kassovitz (“The Bureau”) and actresses Nathalie Baye (“Call My Agent”) and Isabelle Nanty (“Munch”).

Prime video docuseries “Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip Hop Comedy” tells the story of how one man, actor/comedian/writer Guy Torry, moved mountains to create an all-Black comedy night at The Comedy Store. Torry serves as executive producer on the series, along with Reginald Hudlin (“Django Unchained”). They talk about the challenges and rewards of an incredible project in Cynsiders.

RENEWALS & ENDINGS

Season four of FX’s “Atlanta” will be its last. “To be honest, I wanted to end it at season 2,” joked producer/writer/star Donald Glover at TCA. “You can’t do too much. The story was always supposed to be what it was.” Season three premieres Thursday, March 24, after a four-year absence. Over at corporate sib FXX, “Dave” was renewed for season three. The comedy is based on the life of rapper and comedian Dave Burd (aka Lil Dicky).

Netflix’s “Stranger Things” will end with season five, but first comes season four, premiering in two sections, on May 27 and July 1. In a letter to fans, co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer said while the series might be coming to and end, the franchise is still alive. “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of ‘Stranger Things’: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes,” they wrote. “But first we hope you stay with us as we finish this tale.”

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has also been renewed for a fifth and final season. “This series has meant so much to Prime Video and the effects of its success will be felt long after its final season. I can’t wait for fans and our worldwide Prime Video audience to savor each moment as we embark on the culmination of this groundbreaking and unforgettable series,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. Season four of the Emmy-winning comedy premieres today, February 18.

FX ordered season five of “Fargo,” from executive producer Noah Hawley and 26 Keys. Warren Littlefield (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), and his production company The Littlefield Company, also serves as executive producer along with Joel & Ethan Coen, and Steve Stark (“Vikings: Valhalla”) of Toluca Pictures. “Fargo” is produced by MGM Television and FX Productions, with MGM Television serving as the lead studio and MGM distributing the series internationally.

BYUtv ordered a second season of magical drama “Ruby and the Well” ahead of its season one premiere. The series follows a 14-year-old who tries to grant wishes for the residents of her hard-luck rural town.

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Lifetime has ordered two more movies from T.D. Jakes’ Seven Deadly Sins anthology. “Wrath” and “Greed” will debut Saturday, April 16 and Saturday, April 23.

Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”) has signed an exclusive multi-year, first-look agreement with MGM International Television Productions. As part of the agreement, Baker will look to develop scripted projects with MGM with an international focus, with an eye for Baker to potentially direct and/or star.

HBO Max handed a straight-to-series order to “The Girls on the Bus,” a drama series inspired by a chapter in Amy Chozick bestseller, Chasing Hillary. First set at Netflix and then The CW, the project comes from Julie Plec, Chozick, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Peacock’s new series “Below Deck Down Under” premieres Thursday, March 17. Set in Australia, the reality show chronicles a boatload of problems among the crew and guests on a chartered yacht.

HGTV’s “Build It Forward” premieres Saturday, March 12 at 6p. The five-parter will spotlight the work of five community heroes, who will get a surprise renovation for their home and community project.

CNN’s Brian Stelter will host a daily version of “Reliable Sources” for upcoming streamer CNN+. “Reliable Sources Daily” is “the ultimate expansion” of the “Reliable” brand, wrote Stelter in his newsletter.

Season three of “Expedition Bigfoot” kicks off Sunday, March 20 at 10p on Travel Channel, following pre-show “New Evidence at 9p.

Multiplatform series “Be My Guest with Ina Garten” premieres Saturday, March 26, will have three different versions: an hour-long cut on discovery+, a half-hour on Food Network at 12p; and a companion podcast.

“The Terminal List,” a thriller series starring Chris Pratt (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), premieres July 1 on Prime Video. The eight-parter is based on the Jack Carr bestseller.

A&E’s “Secrets of the Chippendales Murders” looks into a world of drugs, arson, male dancers and murder beginning Monday, March 14 at 10p. The series follows new episodes of “Secrets of Playboy,” A&E’s #1 series launch in more than five years.

“Pistol,” FX’s Danny Boyle-directed miniseries about Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, will make its debut in May. FX chairman John Landgraf shared the news during his TCA session.

BYUtv’s Family Premiere Night on Sunday, February 27 will include “Malory Towers” at 7:30p, “Relative Race” at 8p, and “Ruby and the Well” at 9p. Monday, March 14 brings “Studio C”; season four of “Making Good” launches Sunday, March 20.

Hasbro will debut “My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale,” a weekly YouTube series, on Thursday, April 7. Animated special “My Little Pony: Make Your Mark” premieres on Netflix on Thursday, May 26, followed by an eight-episode series by the same name on September 26. A second special, “My Little Pony: Winter Wishday,” will debut on Netflix November 21.

UP Faith & Family will be the first place in the US that fans can watch “Heartland” season 15. Beginning March 17, the service will add new episodes of the Canadian drama weekly.

CASTING

Stephanie Beatriz (“Encanto”) and Paul Wesley (“The Vampire Diaries”) will headline the cast of the Shudder Original Film “History of Evil,” a horror-thriller written and directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Bo Mirhosseni.

FX and BBC have set the cast for “Great Expectations,” the six-part limited series from writer Steven Knight. Olivia Colman (“The Crown”) stars as “Miss Havisham” and Fionn Whitehead (“Dunkirk”) as “Pip” alongside Ashley Thomas (“Henry Emory”), Johnny Harris (“London to Brighton”), Shalom Brune-Franklin (“The Tourist”), Hayley Squires (“I, Daniel Blake”), Owen McDonnell (“Killing Eve”), Trystan Gravelle (“Quiz”), and Matt Berry (“What We Do in the Shadows”).

Amanda Seyfried (“The Art of Racing in the Rain”) landed the female lead in Apple TV+ anthology series “The Crowded Room,” from Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”) and New Regency.

COMING UP

The last weekend of NBCU’s Olympics coverage will feature figure skating, bobsled, men’s hockey, speed skating and more, along with the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 20 at 8p. It’s been a Games like no other – in addition to new events like the Women’s Monobob, Mixed Team Snowboard Cross and Mixed Team Aerials, the NBC Olympics VR by Xfinity app featuring the Games in 8K VR, enabling immersive coverage including the option in some events to get alternative vantage points.

Mary J. Blige will perform at the 53rd NAACP Awards, airing Saturday, February 26 at 8p on BET. Presenters include Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, LL Cool J, Michael Strahan, Morgan Freeman, Paula Patton, Questlove, Simu Liu, Tiffany Haddish, Zendaya, NAACP President Derrick Johnson, and NAACP Board Chairman Leon W. Russell.

CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will broadcast live on Tuesday, March 1 at 11:35p, the day of President Biden’s State of the Union Address. Sen. Bernie Sanders will make his 14th appearance as a guest.

Today, February 18, NBCUniversal and Z by HP will debut the first branded short film to stream on Peacock. “Unlocked,” inspired by and created for data scientists, will take viewers on an interactive journey that unlocks an ancient mystery.

Kate Winslet will present Helen Mirren with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. The event will be simulcast on TNT and TBS on Sunday, February 27 at 8p.

“Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 U (a SOUR film)” will debut exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, March 25. The singer/songwriter will take audiences on a road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album, to LA.

“Dancing With the Stars” champs Derek Hough and Julianne Hough will host ABC’s “Step Into…The Movies with Derek and Julianne,” a one-hour pre-Oscars special airing Sunday, March 27 at 8p.

The Archery Trade Association and Outdoor Sportsman Group take another shot at showcasing the ATA Show New Product Premiere on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel on Saturday, February 19 at 7p. The 30-minute, limited- interruption program details new products and technologies in the archery industry.

TECH

Only 47% of Super Bowl viewers recalled seeing a crypto ad during the Super Bowl, according to Reach3 Insights. The biggest crypto winner of the night was Coinbase, with creative use of a rainbow colored QR code – 30% recalled seeing a Coinbase ad. The biggest crypto loser was FTX, with only 12% of those surveyed remembering seeing their ads. Of those who recalled seeing the ads, 34% said they would be interested in learning more about crypto, and 12% say that seeing a crypto ad during the big game makes it feel a lot more mainstream.

Yahoo announced the launch of Next-Gen Solutions for web, an advanced contextual targeting solution that uses machine learning and real-time data signals to provide omnichannel targeting and buying across non-addressable inventory in the Yahoo DSP. “Yahoo’s integrated approach is addressing identity’s biggest challenges,” said Iván Markman, Chief Business Officer at Yahoo. “Respect consumer preferences and create a better value exchange, maintain advertiser and publisher relevance and reach, and support a thriving open web ecosystem.”

ViralGains has released a new cookieless tool that creates dynamic interactions within an advertisement to cater the brand experience to the viewer based on their input. The privacy-friendly product is available within the ViralGains Odyssey platform and allows advertisers to prompt ad viewers to share their preferences, sentiment, interests and other actions within an ad. The remainder of the interactions within the ad then adapt in real-time based on the viewer’s feedback.

Ad-ID, the industry standard for identifying advertising assets across media platforms, has announced a new partnership with Univision to support advertising asset identification and tracking for Univision’s media portfolio. “Effective advertising is a crucial aspect of our work to entertain, inform and empower the U.S. Hispanic community,” said Donna Speciale, President of Advertising Sales and Marketing at Univision. “We are confident that our new partnership with Ad-ID will provide direct benefits to our brands, advertisers and consumers. We look forward to growing our work together in order to improve advertising outcomes for all of our constituent groups in this increasingly complex environment.”

STREAMING

Streaming in the U.S. reached a new all-time high in January in total minutes during a week, the highest average weekly figure of any month, and share of total television usage, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge. In January 2022, streaming averaged over 180 billion minutes per week, delivering a record 28.9% of total television usage. The first week of January saw 197.6 billion minutes of streaming, topping the previous record of 183 billion.

Quintus Studios has partnered with VOD platform Rakuten TV to launch a new FAST channel, Radical Docs, which features a mix of real world and investigative stories. Compiled from across Quintus’s content portfolio, shows on Radical Docs will explore stories like the world’s banking systems, food globalization, the world´s most brutal penal institutions, and no go zones.

The new Crunchyroll app is now on Nintendo Switch. Included are more than 1,000 series and 30,000 episodes, including “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” and “One Piece,” available through the Nintendo Switch console either docked at home or taken on the go.

GOING GLOBAL

Flame Distribution and MAP TV revealed that “Moors Murders,” a new true crime docuseries ordered by UK’s Channel 4, is scheduled to premiere on Monday, February 21.

Digital news publisher Quartz announced the launch of its Quartz Africa membership. Quartz will cover more of the innovation and market-moving stories in Africa.

In Japan, Me Interactive has picked up a selection of shows distributed by Superights including “Bo Bear,” “Helen’s Little School”and “Pat the Dog,” among others.

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RATINGS

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Wednesday, February 16
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Jeopardy! College Championship 4.64 (0.5), The Chase 3.12 (0.4), The Chase 2.58 (0.3)
CBS: Big Brother 3.09 (0.5), Amazing Race 3.17 (0.5), NCIS 2.23 (0.2)
CW: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 0.31 (0.1), Batwoman 0.26 (0.0)
FOX: I Can See Your Voice 2.07 (0.4), Next Level Chef 1.88 (0.4)
NBC: Winter Olympics 6.83 (1.2)
Telemundo: Exatlon 1.07 (0.3), Hercai: Amor Venganza 1.26(0.4), Pasion de Gavilanes 0.84 (0.3)
Univision: Soltero con Hijas 1.54 (0.4), Madre 1.52 (0.5)

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Adriana Martínez Barrón has joined CBS as Vice President, Drama Series Development. Most recently, Martínez Barrón served as Vice President of Film at Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment.

Kim Harris and Jessica Sinn have joined 160/90 as SVP of Cultural Strategy & Insights and SVP of Business Development, respectively. Harris joins 160/90 from McCann Worldgroup, where she served as an SVP executive strategy director on Verizon, while Sinn most recently served as Management Director of Growth at Team One.

Ashley Hoppin has joined Red Rock Films as Head of Content. Hoppin was previously VP, Production, at Nat Geo.

Omnicom’s cultural intelligence consultancy, sparks & honey, has promoted Kristin Molinari Cohen as its first Chief Marketing Officer. Cohen previously served as SVP, Marketing and Business Development.

David Cobb has been promoted to SVP, Operations and Content Planning, Disney Branded Television. In this new role, Cobb is responsible for strategic oversight and content planning for Disney Branded Television.

Magical Elves has promoted Ron Mare to SVP of Casting. Mare joined the company in 2017.

Charter Communications has elevated Satya Parimi to SVP, Product and Strategy for Spectrum Enterprise. Parimi will lead strategy and accelerate the expansion and addition of product solutions and features

Havas Media Group has promoted Greg James to Global Chief Transformation Officer. James will be responsible for the newly formed Strategic Development and Client Experience team.

XTR has hired Jonathan Stern as the company’s first Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining XTR, Stern founded the Media Advisory Group.

Yamini Joshi has joined Fandom as Managing Director in the APAC region. Joshi was previously SVP Sales for APAC & Middle East at Fox Networks.

IN MEMORIAM

Production designer Alfred Sole died February 14. He was 78. Sole’s television work included “Veronica Mars,” “Castle” and “MacGyver,” among others.

This Day in History
1952 – The Emmy Awards were presented nationwide for the first time.

Friday Fun Fact
Cows can recognize human faces, and remember them for their entire lives.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What kind of animal was the title character in “Fury” (1955-60)? A horse. Kudos to: Rick Dascher-WarnerMedia Studios/Atlanta; David Rubinsohn-American Public Television/Boston; Jane Pook/Brooklyn, NY; Joel Zaremby-Workplace/Bridgeport; Greg Moloznik-GLM Media/Scottsdale, AZ; Greg Stewart/LA; Adrienne Spitzer/Beverly Hills, CA; Joy Aronson/LA; Cathy Korda/Honolulu, HI; Dan Whitford-WTTWT/Chicago; Steve Daniloff-WBNX-TV/Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Tammy Bloom-Tremendous! Entertainment/Minneapolis; Kyle Krebs-CBS 42/Birmingham, AL; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Julie Houston-Tom Scott Agency/Boise, ID; Wendy Holmes/Denver

Today’s Trivia Question
What was the first network TV show to be canceled during the 2019-2020 season? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)

Cynopsis Team