IN THE NEWS

Peacock has strutted off with a two-season order for hot commodity Bel-Air. The hour-long drama, based on Morgan Cooper’s reimagining of Will Smith’s 1990-96 sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, comes from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Television and Universal Television. “We have just officially closed the deal with Peacock with an unprecedented two-season-order from a pitch,” Will Smith said. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years and that does not happen.”

Let the Games begin. The International Olympic Committee confirmed that the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics will take place next year, “with or without Covid,” starting July 23. “These will be the Games that conquered Covid, the light at the end of the tunnel,” said IOC VP John Coates.

The Chi scored a fourth season order from Showtime. “This show has definitely taken me on a journey,” said creator/EP Lena Waithe. “One of learning, healing, and growth. I didn’t know how this season would be received, but the level of engagement and enthusiasm from the fans has been fantastic. I still can’t believe our numbers are up by double digits!”

Six-time Dancing with the Stars champ Derek Hough will return to the competition as a judge for the new season, debuting on ABC Monday, September 14 at 8p. Hough joins Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel. Unable to judge live this time around, Len Goodman will offer his ballroom dancing insights from the UK. Hough’s sister, Juliane Hough, also moved from being a pro dancer on the show to a judge, on seasons 19-21.

Adult Swim canceled The Venture Bros. after seven seasons that aired over the course of 17 years. The net tweeted that it is working to “find another way” to continue the show, an animated spoof of sci-fi adventure series Johnny Quest.

Ad revenue dropped by 36.2% in the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Standard Media Index report. But it’s not all bad news. “TV and digital are clearly emerging as the media likely to bounce out of the COVID market in better shape as they’ve both experienced audience growth during this lockdown period,’’ said James Fennessy, SMI’s CEO. “Already the early US data for August is showing us that TV looks to be stabilizing.”

Should brands should play a role in fighting systemic racism and racial injustice? Yes, said 54% of respondents in Edelman’s “The Fight for Racial Justice in America” report. That’s down from 60% of people who expressed that view in early June, but up from earlier in August.

ABC Owned Television Stations is staging a virtual census phone bank in partnership with the Hispanic Federation today, September 9 across the eight DMA markets that make up ABC Owned Television Stations. Each station will host a phone bank to reach the most underrepresented groups and obtain census counts.

Two for one: The Masked Singer will have its first “duet” costume, inhabited by two celebrities who will compete together. Season four of the Fox singing competition launches Wednesday, September 23.

The curtain is closing on E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians. “After what will be 14 years, 20 seasons, hundreds of episodes and several spin-off shows, we’ve decided as a family to end this very special journey,” said a statement from Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West, Khloe Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Scott Disick. “We are beyond grateful to all of you who’ve watched us for all of these years – through the good times, the bad times, the happiness, the tears, and the many relationships and children.” In a statement of its own, E! said that while it will miss the family “wholeheartedly,” the network respects the family’s decision “to live their lives without our cameras.”

Something is rotten in the state of New York…NBC has put in development The Stratford, from Vincent Angell (The Rookie), Hazy Mills and Universal Television, reports Deadline. The drama, set in a luxury NYC hotel, centers on a young man’s search for his father’s killer, with characters based on updated versions of Shakespearean characters.

Stick Figures Entertainment in association with American Masters Pictures will offer a look at the career and creative process of dancer/director/choreographer Twyla Tharp. The film, Twyla Moves (wt), will have its US premiere as part of the American Masters series on PBS.

Heather Gray and Kristin Matthews have been promoted to Joint Executive Producers/Showrunners of CBS daytimer The Talk. They replace John Redmann, who departed after 10 seasons. Both Gray and Matthews have worked on the show since the show’s first season. “They have both been instrumental in the evolution and the many successes of the show since the beginning,” said Amy Reisenback, EVP, Current Programs, CBS Entertainment. “Now, they are poised to work together to take it to the next level with their creative vision, limitless passion and strong leadership abilities.”

NEW SERIES

CuriosityStream has three new natural history series on tap. Nature Through Her Eyes and My Wild Backyard premiere in October, while Doug to the Rescue arrives in early 2021.

In conjunction with its nonpartisan voting initiative “Kick 2020 in the Ballots. FF’ing Vote.”, Freeform will premiere election-themed series, Kal Penn Approves This Message, an unscripted comedy that explores issues relevant to Millennial and Gen Z voters.

SYNDICATION STATION

Season 18 of The Ellen DeGeneres Show premieres Monday, September 21 – “And yes, we’re gonna talk about it,” said the host in a statement on Tuesday. DeGeneres has been accused of fostering a toxic work environment that led to exits of key staffers, a situation that has led to speculation about the show’s cancellation.

New syndicated talker The Drew Barrymore Show kicks off on Monday, September 14 with a Charlie’s Angels reunion of Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, as well as the host’s 50 First Date co-star, Adam Sandler.

Also coming up in syndication, for the fall 2021 season, are The Weather Channel’s hour-long strip Highway Thru Hell, and weekly series SOS: How to Survive and Top 10. “In this current environment, it is more important than ever that we remain focused on delivering extraordinary content solutions for the broadcast television stations and the advertising community,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Entertainment Studios/Allen Media Group. “I am highly confident these three outstanding programs will continue to do extremely well with viewers.”

OWN is licensing Tamron Hall from Disney Media Networks. OWN will premiere the talker on weekdays in multiple time periods beginning Monday, September 14, the same day it premieres nationally in first-run syndication. “Having Oprah’s engaged and passionate OWN viewers join us at our table is both meaningful and a privilege, especially during this moment in history where conversations matter more than ever before,” said Hall. “I can’t imagine a more perfect second home for my show and I am thrilled to join Oprah and the OWN family.”

Law&Crime Network launching its first syndicated series, Law&Crime Daily, featuring coverage of current court cases and true crime events, in partnership with Litton Entertainment. The show will air on broadcast channels across more than 80 markets in the US, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta.

COMING UP

Music doc Fandango at the Wall, following the journey of musician Arturo O’Farrill and producer Kabir Sehgal to recruit musicians for a live album recording at the US/Mexico border wall, premieres on HBO Latino on Friday, September 25 at 8p.

COZI TV will air a two-hour, The Lone Ranger special, The Masked Man Marathon, on Saturday, September 12 starting at 8a (check local listings). The four-episode block will feature custom animations on social media and on-air promotions featuring The Lone Ranger and Tonto, with a contemporary nose-and-mouth mask to remind viewers to wear masks and keep socially distant.

Circle TV is hosting an ACM Awards Red Carpet Week, kicking off Saturday, September 12 leading up to the 55th ACM Awards on Wednesday, September 16 on CBS. Circle will run over 40 hours of programming, trivia, and fresh content.

STREAMING SCOOP

The Apple TV app is launching on Vizio SmartCast TVs. In addition to Apple devices, the app is now available on Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, and LG and Samsung TVs. Eligible Vizio SmartCast customers can sign up for Apple TV+ and receive three months of the service for free.

ABC News announced three new digital video brands designed for mobile viewing: Notified, Examined, and Voices, part of ABC News’ expanding lineup of original digital video productions. “In this news cycle, we’re constantly seeking out new ways to engage our digital audiences,” said Terry Hurlbutt, VP and Executive Editor, ABC News Digital, noting that the number of average monthly mobile visitors in 2020 is up 70% against the average from 2019, and the number of average monthly video views in 2020 is up +37%.

TECH TALK

Vendors ThinkAnalytics and Firstlight Media are partnering to deliver search and recommendation products to pay TV and OTT service operators by combining Firstlight Media’s content management system with London-based ThinkAnalytics’ cloud native content delivery platform. “The nirvana of personalization is knowing not only the ‘what’ in the viewer’s decision-making process but also the ‘why,’” said Andre Christensen, CEO and co-founder, Firstlight Media. “The combination of ThinkAnalytics’ suite of tools and our own real-time personalization capabilities will turbocharge our customers’ ability to gain deeper, more actionable insights into content that’s coming—and content that was missed—that matters to the viewer.”

CASTING

Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue) has joined the cast of ABC soap General Hospital, which resumed production on July 22. Delaney got her start on ABC daytimer All My Children, back in 1981…SNL featured player Ego Nwodim has been upped to series regular for season 46 of the NBC sketch comedy…Carrie Wampler (Big Little Lies) has boarded season eight of ABC’s The Goldbergs in a recurring role. She replaces Kelli Berglund, who had to exit due to another commitment.

GOING GLOBAL

Northern Irish production company Alleycats Films announced two commissions from BBC Four: Art on The BBC, exploring how TV has influenced the understanding of modern masters, and Plague Fiction, a special examining what lessons can be learned from the plagues of the 14th and 17th centuries.

Boom and Twofour, both part of ITV Studios, are realigning their nations and regions. Founded in Plymouth, Twofour will be re-focusing to where the majority of its productions are based, and harnessing opportunities in Plymouth where it operates a production innovation and post-production business. Sam Grace, currently Director of Programmes at Boomerang (part of Twofour), is joining Boom’s senior management team.

Channel 5 will bring Monday Night Football and a Sunday morning magazine program to the UK via a new three-year partnership with the NFL and ViacomCBS Networks International. The multiplatform deal, made in partnership with Velocity, VCNI’s branded content studio, will also see new NFL content across MTV International’s digital platforms in the UK.

French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo announced sales for the new preschool adventure CGI series Tainá And The Amazon Guardians, produced by Brazil production company Sincrocine, in association with animation studio Hype and Nick Jr Brazil. Onboard are Netflix in Latin America, Brazilian public television networks TV Brazil and BAND TV, Nick Jr Brazil and Latin America, Turkish pay platform D-Smart and kids content distributor Neo Content, China.

Hat Trick International confirmed format sales of its long-running series Dinner Date, produced by Hat Trick Productions, airing on ITVBe in the UK. A second series is currently being produced by Seapoint, for ZDF in Germany.

Federation Kids & Family and TeamTO are teaming for new animated comedy series Presto! School of Magic, based on STUDIOCANAL’S theatrical show, The House of Magic. Federation Kids & Family will serve as worldwide distributor, managing all television rights outside of China.

Sinking Ship Entertainment has announced the sales of Dino Dana, Annedroids and Chirp. ATV-owned Turkish free-to-air channel Minika has taken seasons one through four of the dinosaur adventure series Dino Dana; Polish free-to-air broadcaster TVP picked up Annedroids and Chirp.

In addition to celebrating individual Top Women in Media, Cynopsis is recognizing two distinguished companies who champion women in media the week of October 13.
We can’t wait to highlight:

Ampersand + Starz

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Shareablee Top 10 TV Shows for the week of August 31
Program, Network, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
Hannity 2.8M, 233, 11,826, 9.6M
Entertainment Tonight 2.4M, 646, 3,726, 9.1M
The Rachel Maddow Show 2.1M, 83, 25,356, 12.9M
Today Show 1.8M, 874, 2,072, 13.7M
Good Morning America 1.4M, 927, 1,479, 14.0M
The Daily Show 1.2M, 53, 21,940, 25.7M
Fox & Friends 1.0M, 66, 15,876, 4.8M
PBS NewsHour 1.0M, 535, 1,947, 3.0M
The 700 Club 784.1K, 157, 4,994, 2.8M

Shareablee Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of August 31
Program, Platform, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
Umbrella Academy 3.0M, 21, 143,467, 3.2M
Cobra Kai 526.3K, 47, 11,198, 827.2K
The Mandalorian 429.8K, 3, 143,288, 1.4M
The Boys 373.6K, 55, 6,793, 650.1K
Netflix Is A Joke 283.0K, 47, 6,020, 2,.1M
Toei Animation (US) 243.5K, 54, 4,509, 1.5M
One Piece 228.0M, 16, 14,249, 3.0M
The Haunting Of Hill House 216.4K, 7, 30,913, 667.9K
Black Clover on Funimation 174.2K, 16, 10,885, 673.8K

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, September 4
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Shark Tank 2.69 (0.4), 20/20 2.87 (0.4)
CBS: MacGyver 2.76 (0.3), Love Island 1.58 (0.3), Blue Bloods 2.56 (0.2)
CW: Masters of Illusion 0.54 (0.1), Masters of Illusion 0.49 (0.1), Being Reuben 0.28 (0.0), Being Reuben 0.20 (0.0)
FOX: WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2.13 (0.6)
NBC: America’s Got Talent 1.62 (0.3), Dateline Classic 2.28 (0.3)
Univision: Rosa de Guadelupe 1.13 (0.3), Medicos Linea de Vida 1.33 (0.4), Dulce Ambicion 1.23 (0.4)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Susan Rovner has been tapped to oversee broadcast, cable and streaming programming at NBCUniversal, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Rovner, expected to start in “the next week or two,” has been President of Warner Bros. Television. Paul Telegdy was let go as NBC Entertainment Chairman last month, following a restructuring and accusations of racist and sexist behavior.

Tim Connelly has joined Apple’s video group. Connolly spent one year as Head of Partnerships & Advertising at Quibi, and four years as SVP, Head of Partnerships & Distribution at Hulu.

IN MEMORIAM

Actor Kevin Dobson died September 6. He was 77. Dobson was best known for his roles on Kojak and Knots Landing.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Seasons one and two of which series were nine years apart? HBO’s The Comeback (2005 and 2014). Kudos to: Cherie Wall-Sandbox Entertainment/Nashville, Ellen Davis/Meredith/NYC, Jason Viers-Nickelodeon/NYC, Dan Quiterio/The WNET Group/NYC, Len Klatt-The Winning Run/LA, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, Greg Stewart/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which dramedy about a tech startup was sponsored by an insurance company? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four.)