FX’s “The Old Man,” starring Jeff Bridges, has been canceled after two seasons. The drama, which premiered in June 2022, was based on the similarly titled book by Thomas Perry and followed the story of Dan Chase (Bridges), a vet/former CIA operative, who went into hiding following a home invasion.

“Girls5Eva” has been canceled for the second time. The musical comedy, which starred Renée Elise Goldsberry (“Hamilton”), Busy Phillips (“Freaks and Geeks”), Sara Bareilles (“Waitress”) and Paula Pell, streamed on Peacock from 2021-2022. When it was canceled, Netflix renewed the show for a third season, which aired in March 2024.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced the new leadership structure for its US Networks business, which will be run by Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, following the retirement at the end of the year of Kathleen Finch, Chairman and CEO, U.S. Networks. Brett Paul will serve as Chief Operating Officer for US Networks. Howard Lee has been elevated to Chief Creative Officer of US Networks and will also continue to serve as President and Head of Content for TLC and Discovery. “Building on the foundation that Kathleen established, I am excited to announce the core U.S. Networks leadership team who will drive a new creative vision and distribution plan that best serves our audiences, our partners, and our business,” said Dungey. “This powerful group will work to redefine the role of the U.S. Networks by fortifying our linear business while continuing to develop a content engine that feeds Max and creates shows that smartly leverage and promote our unparalleled IP.”

VA Media has officially announced the launch of BLK Screen Central, a free channel dedicated to Black voices and content creators. BLK Screen Central’s 181-title catalogue showcases genres including horror, drama, fantasy, romcom, documentary and comedy. Mark Ashbridge, CEO of VA Media shared, “We are proud to add BLK Screen Central to our ever-expanding owned and operated channel line-up. Our goal is to provide the broadest range of viewing options possible with the curated content audiences desire. Tapping into consumer needs to create mutually beneficial results with and for our partners is a key driver to our continued growth and success.”

Bell Media announced that it will develop and produce an original scripted television series for the Canadian market from Point Grey and Lionsgate. The new project, made through Lionsgate’s first-look TV deal with Point Grey, will be available on all Bell Media platforms, including Crave and CTV. Point Grey is helmed by Vancouver natives Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver. “Canada is the greatest country on Earth and deserves the greatest content on Earth. To honor the country from coast to glorious coast and every square kilometer in between, we promise to work diligently with our partners at Lionsgate and Bell Media to ensure our new deal results in creatively exciting and financially lucrative work that flows forth from our alliance like syrup from a well-tapped maple tree,” said Rogen, Goldberg, and Weaver.

“Shtisel”, the Israeli series about the drama within a close orthodox Jewish family, is getting a prequel. “Kugel” will premiere in 2025 on the Israeli network, Yes, and global streamer, Izzy. “Shtisel” originally launched in 2013 on Yes, and became an international hit after Netflix aired it from 2018-21. Prime Video acquired all three seasons earlier this year. The new series is being co-produced by production house Abot Hameiri, Fremantle, Izzy and Yes.

“A Thousand Blows,” from Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) premieres February 21. The six-episode series takes place in the high-stakes world of competitive boxing in 1880s Victorian London and is based on real-life characters with memorable stories. Look for it on Hulu domestically and Disney+ internationally.

In a series first, reality franchise “The Challenge” will pair fan-favorite rivals to compete in “The Challenge All Stars: Rivals,” starting Wednesday, January 29 at 8p on MTV. On the same day, MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast, hosted by former competitors Da’Vonne Rogers and Devyn Simone, will return, with new episodes dropping every Thursday.

Today’s Premieres
Nat Geo: Lost Treasures of the Bible, 9p
Prime Video: Beast Games
Max: Fast Friends
Peacock: Laid

ABC News is presenting “The Year: 2024”, hosted by “Good Morning America” regular Robin Roberts. The two-hour special, airing Tuesday, December 26 at 9p, will look back at memorable moments of the year, including historic news events, social trends, celebrities, breakout stars and more.

On January 1, AXS TV will serve up “Hangover From Hell,” a marathon featuring 16 episodes of “Hell’s Kitchen.” Featuring the most memorable and heated moments from the kitchen, the culinary chaos begins at 12p.

LatiNation Media is kicking off 2025 with a new health and wellness show, “Esencia: Latina Wellness.” Hosted by Katherine Castro, the special debuts Wednesday, January 1 at 8p on linear network, LATV, and digitally on LatiNation Digital and LATV FAST Channel.

The Roku Channel will serve as the exclusive US streaming home of the X Games Aspen and a major X Games summer event on the recently launched Roku Sports Channel. Roku has also launched X Games TV Fast Channel and will curate a fan-friendly X Games Zone. “This partnership with X Games is the perfect marriage between content and distribution—more than half of The Roku Channel’s monthly FAST audience are between the ages of 18 and 49, and the X Games have built a lifestyle brand that sits right at the intersection of sports and youth culture,” said Joe Franzetta, Head of Sports, Roku Media. “We look forward to using the reach of Roku to make these competitions — and the athletes at the heart of it all — accessible to millions of viewers for free.” X Games Aspen will take place January 23-25, 2025, in Aspen, CO.

Samsung Ads queried consumers about their TV ad preferences during the holiday shopping season and reported that 69% of consumers gravitate to ads that showcase special prices or discounts. Additionally, 61% of customers use their mobile phones to purchase products after seeing an ad on TV; 30% of consumers use QR codes to learn more about a product, while 29% use them for purchases; and 52% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product promoted in AI-generated ads. Millennials are 25% more likely to prefer ads featuring celebrities or influencers, while Gen Z is 52% more likely to value QR codes or links for additional product information.

Gray Media will simulcast 15 regular season Atlanta Braves games in 2025 alongside FanDuel Sports Network, the Braves’ rightsholder partner. The 15 games will be spread across the season. Additionally, Gray will exclusively produce and air 10 spring training games. “We are thrilled to partner with Gray Media to offer our fans more opportunities to watch a simulcast of certain games and access our content all across the Southeast,” said Atlanta Braves President-CEO Derek Schiller. “This partnership makes Braves baseball even more accessible, allowing fans throughout Braves Country the ability to watch in a way that best suits them, whether that is on cable, local TV, or streaming.”

NBCUniversal’s Thanksgiving Day programming netted record-breaking viewership, ranking as the #1 destination for audiences, with 109M total viewers across platforms and 1 in 3 households. Viewers tuning into the parade were 97% more likely to search for brands advertised than viewers of competitive broadcast networks that day, reported NBCU. The annual “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” on December 4 was a hit on NBC, as well as Telemundo with its inaugural broadcast, “Navidades en Rockefeller Center.” Across NBC, the special drove +8% brand memorability, +17% brand search engagement, and +33% likeability versus competitive broadcast prime programming.

FOX Business Network ended 2024 on a high, with 194,000 business day viewers and 129,000 in total day, setting its highest-rated year in the primetime demo since 2017 and delivering 5% year-over-year growth with younger viewers.

FOX News finished November as the top news brand on YouTube, with over 400 million video views during election month, according to Shareablee. The FOX News Mobile App reached 7.2 million unique visitors in November, its best month since September 2021.

NewsNation’s “NewsNation Live Weekend” at noon garnered 34,000 viewers among adults 25-54, and “NewsNation Now Weekend with Anna Kooiman” at 1p delivered its top-rated demo (14K) since launching in June 2024.

Brand growth platform Adlook announced three key hires. Gil Larsen will serve as Executive Vice President of Sales; Lily Altman will be Head of Client Development, and Ryan Ammerman has been named Head of Business Development.

Today’s Trivia Question
What was the name of the quirky ’90s show that was set in Cicely, Alaska? (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.)