Reality Beat: 'Big Brother' Returns to Chile And Ninder Billings Promoted To A + E Networks VP
Docuseries: This summer, OWN will be debuting a new documentary series through the eyes of Essence magazine that looks at Black America over the last half-century. The five-part series, Time of Essence, will dissect the 1970s to now; showcasing the magazine’s pledge to inform and reflect Black culture. First-hand commentary from Essence staff, icons, trailblazers, and leaders who “lived and defined them”. Celebrities such as Regina Hall, Whoopi Goldberg, Taye Diggs, Halle Berry as well as longtime Essence Editor and Chief Susan L. Taylor and current Essence magazine editor Mikki Taylor will be featured.
“In 1970, Essence recognized that Black women’s contributions to society were being undervalued, and set a new standard as the first publications to reflect Black womanhood, affirming her strength, style and achievements and provoking industry reform and change," OWN President Tina Perry said. “This series will be a testament to what Essence has been historically and how it continues to shape the culture at large today.”
Black-owned media company, Sunwise Media, is producing a documentary series for OWN titled Rebuilding Black Wall Street: Greenwood. This project comes as a result of a strategic partnership between GroupM Motion Entertainment and Warner Bros. This partnership supports GroupM’s Diverse Voices Accelerator (DVA), an initiative to support creators, writers, producers, directors, and studios from traditionally underrepresented groups in entertainment. This six-part series will be premiering on OWN in the Fall. The series will document the reconstruction of the Greenwood District of Tulsa, which was destroyed in the 1921 massacre. Over the course of six episodes, viewers will be directed through Greenwood's rich history and the personal journeys of the cast, many of whom are the descendants of Black Wall Street residents.
"We have a responsibility to create a more inclusive and equitable industry," said Kirk McDonald, CEO, GroupM North America. "This benefits everyone. It empowers content creators who face barriers, provides brands with access to diverse and engaged audiences, and offers viewers authentic programming that captures the richness of the human experience."
Bruce Dixon, Vice Media’s chief financial officer, and Hozefa Lokhandwala, chief strategy officer, have been announced as co-CEOs following Nancy Dubuc’s departure as CEO. Dubuc was Vice Media’s for almost five years, succeeding Shane Smith in 2018. Prior to the CEO position, Lokhandwala was an investment banker at J.P Morgan and DJ in New York under the moniker DJ Fesones.
In a memo to employees, new co-CEOs, Dixon and Lokhandwala stated, “This is a pivotal time for our industry and for Vice. Trust in traditional media has eroded, there are more ways than ever for our audiences to consume our content and revenue models are evolving faster than ever.”
Tracey Lange has parted ways with Bravo! after 11 years. Bravo! is a South African celebrity magazine show airing weekly on kykNET. This departure comes as Lange expresses that “God had ticked off everything on my bucket list where South African TV is concerned” and that now “it’s time to dream again”. Previously, Lange was a co-host on M-Net’s Dancing with the Stars SA, a panelist on Afrikaan female talk show Tussen Ons on kykNET, and hosted the talk show Studio 3 on kykNET & Kie.
Dear Coach Stringer, a 30-minute documentary highlighting the career of women’s basketball hall of famer Coach Vivian Stringer is premiering on CBS and Paramount+ and is set to debut on March 25 at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT. Stringer was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. She is best known for leading the Women’s Basketball team of Cheyney State to the NCAA Women’s Final Four; the first and only historically Black college to accomplish such a feat. Since then Stringer has went on to coach two other teams to the NCAA Women’s Final Four: University of Iowa in 1993 and Rutgers University in 2000 and 2007.
RapCaviar is coming to Hulu. The influential Spotify playlist is introducing a self-proclaimed docuseries titled RapCaviar Presents – a six-part series available to stream on Hulu on March 30. Artists like Roddy Ricch, Tyler the Creator, Coi Leray, Pharrell, Megan thee Stallion, and more are set to be featured discussing different hot topics like mental health, women’s sexuality, social media, and the criminalization of artists lyrics, fans, and social issues at large.
MGM strikes again, greenlighting a new four-part docuseries diving into the experience of Black creatives in Hollywood over a century. The docuseries comes as an adaptation of historian Donald Bogle’s book Hollywood Black from director Justin Simien (Dear White People). Bogle’s inspiration stemmed from researching figures like Sidney Poitier, John Singleton, Dorothy Dandridge, and Barry Jenkins telling a story from the silent era to the present day. Hollywood Black aims to illustrate the careers of pioneering directors, actors, producers, and writers who “who fought for their place on the page, behind the camera, on the screen, and in the credits,” MGM+ said in a statement.
“Hollywood, like many American industries, was built on Black culture and Black talent, even though it excluded Black people from many of its origin stories,” Simien starts. “This series seeks to illuminate present-day controversies, from #OscarSoWhite to the almost regular ‘blackface reveal’ of prominent white celebrities, told through the lens of Black individuals throughout Hollywood history.” Simien called it “the most important story I’ve been able to tell to date.”
A + E Networks appointed Ninder Billing as VP of unscripted co-productions international as a part of an initiative to expand international coproduction activity. Prior to being VP, Billing was the creative director at Darlow Smithson Productions where she secured six new unscripted series. Preceding that, she was head of specialist factual at The Garden and behind Operation Live, Channel 5, and Police Tapes for ITV along with The Unshockable Dr Ronx.
Amy Kleinhans-Curd - Die Real Housewives van die Wynlande (The Real Housewives of the Winelands)
Docusoap: The top streamer Netflix has announced that it is canceling the popular Asian American and Pacific Islander series Bling Empire after three seasons and its spinoff Bling Empire: New York after one season. No word on the reason behind the cancellations.
Staying true to its roots, Bravo is a revolving door for old and new cast members alike. Starting with the old; Real Housewives of Atlanta Phaedra Parks is reportedly in talks to join the Married to Medicine crew. How you ask? Phaedra allegedly snagged a doctor to give her the “cure” to her reality TV drought.
Speaking of drought, Married to Medicine’s Anila Sajja has cut ties with the Bravo Network ahead of season 10. Sajja did not exit quietly stating “there are three sides to a story: somewhere between their story and mine, is the TRUTH”. “The truth is — only half of the rumors are true. I won’t be on the upcoming season of Married to Medicine, but I won’t be gone for long…”, she promised. Dr. Contessa Metcalfe is also taking a break as she plans to spend more time with her family.
Paramount’s MTV Entertainment Studios producer, Lashan Browning, has announced a new joint venture, Antoinette Media. Antoinette Media will run as a full-service production company working on unscripted titles, scripted features, and documentaries. Browning’s history includes producing seven series for MTV Entertainment Studios like “Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta”, “Love & Hip-Hop Miami”, “Love & Hip-Hop Family Reunion”, “Couples Retreat”, “Caught in the Act: Unfaithful”, “Shaunie & Keion: Destination I Do”, and “Run It Back”.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for producers, as both the quality and quantity of content continue to climb to new heights. Antoinette Media’s launch, along with Paramount’s valued backing, empower us to further build an already extensive body of work and move forward as industry leaders in the production of high-quality, commercial content across genres and formats.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs is rumored to be expanding his talents in the entertainment industry. The entertainment mogul is supposedly in talks with Hulu to launch a reality series featuring his family titled Diddy + 7. The family has already been spotted filming in various locations and cities like Los Angeles and Miami, according to sources. “[The show] is all about the dynamic of the family and how Diddy does it all with all the kids. They’re a real family, even all the baby mamas,” the source said. Each family member is presumed to bring their talents to the show: Christian (aka King) pushing his rap career with his latest single “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop”, twins Jessie and D’Lila making cameos with their sister, Chance, to showcase their fashionable tastes, along with Quincy, adopted by Diddy – and the son of Al B. Sure, who currently stars in Power Book III: Raising Kanan and has a singing career.
Lookout housewives, we have a new set of women in town. Die Real Housewives van die Wynlande (The Real Housewives of the Winelands) feature a wide range of women from beauty queens to Botox doctors to socialites embodying the lifestyle of luxury and gossip April 20 on kykNET. One of the housewives, is former Miss South Africa, Amy Kleinhans-Curd. Kleinhans-Curd is married to New Zeland business Leighton Curd. The mother of four is far from a stay-at-home mom, she is the director for various companies founded in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Fund in 2000 (Dial-A-Teacher, Homework Hotline, etc.) This series follows as the second Afrikaans version following Die Real Housewives van Pretoria as the 5th South African version and 9th African version. South Africa has English versions with different circles women: The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, The Real Housewives of Cape Town, The Real Housewives of Durban currently in its third season, and The Real Housewives of Gqeberha
Mario lopez - Jeff Kravitz
Game Show: Big Brother will be returning to Chile for the first time after 18 years. Local network Chilevision made a deal with Banijay Rights to broadcast the reality series this year. Produced by Chilevision and Kuarzo, this marks the first time Chile will be able to produce its own version and expand on the pan regional success of the series. “All these super brand productions seem to be going from strength to strength and Big Brother is a part of that,” said Lucas Green, Head of Content Operations at Banijay. “Big Brother has been so successful in the Lat Am region in the last few years that it just makes sense to branch out and do local versions as well.”
Singapore reality gaming TV series Good Game has been optioned by Village Roadshow in the U.S. and ShinAwiL in the UK. A deal was settled by Small World IFT by boutique formats distributor Tim Crescenti. Good Game is a game series seeking Asia’s next gaming content creator star by putting them through paces via challenges. Negotiations are underway discussing the second season of the Singapore version along with local versions like Vietnam and Thailand.
Game Show Network will be introducing a brand-new game show to the roster: Blank Slate. Blank Slate, based on the board game with the same name, will be hosted by none other than Mario Lopez. What makes this show different from the rest is its obvious play-along factor that gives the audience a feeling of being a contestant themselves. According to Board Game Geek, “each round in Blank Slate, pick one of the 250+ word cue cards (which have 500+ total cues) and reveal it. Each player then writes the word they think best completes the phrase, trying to exactly match another player’s word without giving a single hint”.
Mark Labbett aka “The Beast” will not be returning to The Chase on ABC but will instead be joining the cast of Game Show Network’s popular quiz show Master Minds. News of his new gig comes after being axed from The Chase; Mark did not elaborate on the reasoning behind his sudden cut other than his tweet stating “They just didn’t renew me. No reason was offered”.
Tyra Banks - Noam Galai
Competitive Series: Amazon Studios continues to play Cupid after greenlighting production of a new dating competition series featuring hosts WWE Brie and Nikki Bella. The series, ‘Twin Love’, is a social experiment that dives into the minds of identical twins and their dating styles/preferences. Ten sets of twins will be split up into two houses of “identical” casts to uncover if their innate similarities extend to their romantic desires. The question being – are twins truly the same? Or now that they are separated, will their choices be dramatically different? Nature vs. Nurture. The series will premiere on Prime Video and Freevee in the U.S. and UK.
"Twin Love is a social dating experience like no other, blending the specificity of being a twin - someone born, quite literally, with a biological soulmate - with the universality of being single and searching for lasting romantic love," Amazon Studios head of AVOD Original Content and Unscripted Programming Lauren Anderson said in a statement. “Our goal is to help couples find love in a fun, unique way, and we can't wait to share Twin Love with Prime Video and Freevee audiences this summer."
The Bachelorette has announced a new leading lady for Season 20, Charity Lawson. Lawson comes as no shocker due to her Bachelor breakup with Zach Shallcross that was aired nationwide. The announcement was made during an episode of The Bachelor: Women Tell All where host, Jesse Palmer, stunned Lawson with the news. The news was kept on the hush, so members of the media were not made privy to the inside scoop, a rare feat for the franchise.
Showtime is stepping back in the boxing ring. The network is set on April 22 to distribute, on pay-per-view, the highly anticipated boxing match between undefeated champions Gervonte Davis and Ryan Garcia. Davis has a record of 28-0 versus Garcia’s record of 23-0. This makes Showtime’s second 2023 PPV fight featuring Davis following the January 7 Davis vs Hector Garcia fight card. During a Los Angeles press conference Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinzoa stated “This is a throwback fight – it’s a fight and a rivalry as big as any in this sport,” he said. “Two young fighters in their prime who are the most exciting young fighters in the sport.”
Tyra Banks is waltzing her way out of the ballroom scene; Dancing with the Stars to be frank. Banks, who replaced previous host Tom Bergeron, will no longer be hosting the competitive series after joining the show in Season 29 (2020). Although she brought in a different level of excitement her tenure as host held mixed feedback/commentary – one of the main being her exchanges with the judges and contestants; often deemed awkward, along with diva-centered entrances upstaging the pros.
Alison Hammond is named the new co-host for The Great British Bake Off, replacing Matt Lucas. The Daily Mirror first broke the news and was confirmed by Channel 4 regarding Hammond’s new position. Hammond also participated in the celebrity version of Bake Off in 2020. She is the first person of color to serve as a host on the baking show since its launch in the UK in 2010.
Darnell Ferguson’s Superchef Grudge Match has been renewed for a second season on Food Network. The new season will feature eight episodes scheduled to debut in 2024 with production commencing towards the end of the year. The series’ official bio describes the show as a:
“…food world is filled with rivalries and on ‘Superchef Grudge Match,’ host Darnell Ferguson stages battles between chefs who have beefs with each other to finally bury the hatchet and win $10,000 cash, a prized knife from the losing chef and lifelong bragging rights over their food foe. From food competition rivalries and business partner squabbles to mentor vs. protégé grudges, sparks fly in and out of the kitchen in this one-hour series.”
Lizzo will extend her deal with Amazon Studios. The extension comes after the television series won three Emmys in 2022 along with outstanding competition program – the first streaming series to triumph in that category. Casting for the second season is already underway. Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon and MGM Studios added, “Lizzo is one of the most exciting, creative, joyful artists in the industry, and the impact of her Emmy award-winning series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls exceeded our every expectation. We are excited to continue our relationship with Lizzo and can’t wait for our global Prime Video audience to experience what’s next.”
Joanna Gaines - Perry Hagopian
Lifestyle: Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer are beefing – with a grill. The two actors are preparing to launch their own barbeque brand, AC Barbeque. Their aim you ask—to perfect the skill of the grill via the new A&E Network series “Kings of BBQ”. The ten-episode unscripted series will follow Anderson and Cedric cross-country seeking out advice, techniques, and different styles from barbeque experts.
“Anthony and I are very excited to take our audience into the savory, smokehouse-filled, finger licking world of barbeque all across the United States,” Cedric the Entertainer said in a statement. Added Anderson: “The launch of AC Barbeque has been a lifelong dream for Cedric and I and we cannot wait to learn more about the craft and share our journey.”
Allen Media will be launching Mathis Court with Judge Greg Mathis in the Fall at stations representing 90% of the U.S. On a smaller scale, Mathis will be providing legal commentary on news stories to local TV stations. Allen Media Group now owns, produces, and distributes eight of the 10 U.S. domestic court series currently on air and in production. This new ownership comes after Warner Bros canceled Judge Mathis and The People’s Court in February after airing for more than 20 years.
“We at Allen Media Group are proud to add Mathis Court With Judge Mathis to our amazing portfolio of court shows,” Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, stated. “Judge Greg Mathis is an outstanding, charismatic, and iconic television host, and we are extremely confident that our eighth and newest court series with Judge Mathis will be very successful for years to come as he joins our outstanding roster of talent, including Judge Kevin Ross, Judge Mablean Ephriam, Judge Christina Perez, Judge Karen Mills-Francis, Judge Glenda Hatchett, Judge Lauren Lake, and Judge Eboni K. Williams. “
The People’s Court with Judge Milian has also been taken under the wing of Allen Media Group. Prior to the takeover, Judge Marilyn Milian completed her 22nd season; making her the longest-presiding judge of the courtroom series. Milian’s legacy comes with 15 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program; winning a total of 4 times, the most wins in court show history.
“I am extremely proud and excited to work with Byron Allen and Allen Media Group to bring “Justice for the People with Judge Milian” to television while helping to enhance legal news coverage for local stations this fall,” Milian said in a statement. “Byron’s tireless commitment and vision is unwavering and unmatched. I am absolutely certain that working together, we will make the courtroom genre stronger than it’s ever been before.”
After the enormous success of Fixer Upper: The Castle last year, the duo Chip and Joanna Gaines continue to build their franchise with their upcoming project Fixer Upper: The Hotel. The series will be produced by Blind Nil and will have six new episodes debuting on Magnolia Network in November. Details first emerged last Wednesday during Warner Bros. Discovery’s press day. “For us, this project represents everything we are most passionate about — hospitality, restoration and home,” the duo shared. “We’ve always been firm believers in the value of home, as a place but also as a feeling. Our dream for this hotel is that it would serve as an extension of home to every guest who comes to stay.”