Reality Beat: Disney Pushes For Streaming Sports Video, ‘The Golden Bachelorette’ To Debut On ABC

Jason Momoa - On The Roam / Max

Docuseries: Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media struck a production partnership with Award-winning unscripted producers Jennifer O’Connell and Rebecca Quinn’s new Velvet Hammer Media. They will co-develop a range of unscripted series that deal with dating, social experiments, and competition. Before that, the trio worked on two seasons of Sweet Life: Los Angeles and the reboot of Project Greenlight.

“Our shared vision and commitment to impactful storytelling make this partnership with VHM a perfect match. We look forward to pushing boundaries, exploring new narratives and delivering content that reflects our world and captivates, inspires and resonates with audiences,” said Montrel McKay, president of Development & Production at Hoorae Media. 

Max announced the renewal of On the Roam season two. Created and co-directed by Aquaman star Jason Momoa, the eight-part docuseries follows his quest for art, adventure, and friendship as he travels across the country. 

“We’re so happy to be going On The Roam with Jason for another season,” said Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president of HBO Entertainment. “His passion shines through in every episode, and the joy he gets from introducing us to these amazing artisans is infectious. It’s such a beautifully crafted series, and we hope that it inspires audiences to discover their own passions.”

Annita McVeigh, Ben Brown, and Geeta Guru-Murthy just landed positions on the chief presenter team of BBC News Channel, which merged the domestic and world channels and was launched last April. The original team consists of seven people, with four based in the U.K., two in Washington D.C., and one in Singapore. Guru-Murthy is reportedly one of five female BBC presenters who failed to initially join the relaunched channel, waiting off-air for more than nine months.

Docusoap: The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore is speaking publicly about the ongoing cast restructuring during the Bravo series’ hiatus. This extended break followed the exit of Kandi Burruss after 14 seasons. Moore also commented on whether NeNe Leakes would return, saying, “According to our boss, that door is closed.”

“They were thinking about, after last season, recasting the show, figuring it out and it’s just taken forever,” said Moore on the Tamron Hall Show.

According to Bravo, Porsha Williams Guobadia will return to season 16 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She starred in seasons five through 13, voluntarily exiting the show in September 2021.

“Porsha Williams Guobadia is a multi-hyphenate and we are fortunate to collaborate and tap into her creativity and passion through this partnership,” said Rachel Smith, executive vice president of unscripted content, lifestyle, and documentaries at NBCUniversal Entertainment. “Our audience has supported and admired Porsha as she so authentically, hilariously, and vulnerably shared her life over the years and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her back to the NBCU family.”

We TV announced that the remaining members of the Braxton family — including Tony, Towanda, Trina, Tamar, and matriarch Ms. Evelyn — will return in the new series. Following Traci Braxton's death from esophageal cancer two years ago, the family will reunite “to share new love, success, heartbreak, ongoing family dynamics, and so much more.”

Despite the unsettled clash over Braxton Family Values’ underpayments, the new season features Toni’s music and new comedy residency, Love and Laughter, in Las Vegas with Ced The Entertainer. Meanwhile, as a mother of two teengagers, Towanda finds balance between her career and family life; after Traci’s death, Towanda also spends more time caring for her nephew, Kevin. Trina must balance her business and motherhood, raising two sons who are navigating adulthood. Viewers will witness singer Tamar’s efforts to juggle her rising music career and her role as a mother.

Currently, the dating series Couple to Throuple is available on NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock. On the program, four couples are matched with singles to explore polyamory. For the upcoming summer, Peacock will debut a new dating reality, Love Undercover, on May 9th; this show will follow five international soccer players coming to the United States to find true love. Meanwhile, the dating show Queens Court will premiere its sophomore season with three new celebrity Queens seeking their King. Long-awaited season six of the sexy dating competition series Love Island: USA will return on the service.

Scrabble

Game Shows: The CW picked up new versions of Television shows Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit; both programs are produced by Hasbro Entertainment, The CW, and Lionsgate Alternative Television. Mattel Television will also produce Scrabble. While neither series has announced the potential hosts, LeVar Burton could be the one attached to Trivial Pursuit. The CW will soon make the official announcement.

Competitive Series: Another scandal involving gender-based violence (GBV) occurred on MultiChoice and M-Net's Big Brother Mzansi season three on DStv. Housemates Bravo B and Makhekhe talked about which of the drunk women they should “fuck first.” Later, MultiChoice, M-Net's Mzansi Magic channel, and Red Pepper Productions removed LottoStar-clad contestant Bravo B and reprimanded Makhekhe. 

"Viewers are familiar with what Big Brother is all about and they know what to expect every season, or so they think. With this season, we are messing with those perceptions and blowing their expectations out of the water," said Shirley Adonisi, the M-Net director for local entertainment channels.

Entertainment manager Deb Antney is on the hunt for an up-and-coming female rap star to compete in ALLBLK’s latest reality, Deb’s House. The series will debut this summer on the AMC Networks’ streaming service. According to AMC, eight promising female artists will move into a shared house for competition, and the winner will become Antney’s next “rap protégé.” 

“I envisioned a competition show that deviates from the norm — one centered around personal growth and self-competition,” Antney said. “Witnessing the music industry veer away from artist development towards a focus on superficiality and explicit content prompted my desire to return to the core values of true lyricism and mentorship. The search for the next female rap sensation in Deb’s House is my way of reigniting that passion. The selection of our show as ALLBLK’s first commissioned competition reality series is truly thrilling.”

A new sports streaming platform is set to launch this fall, a joint venture (JV) of media moguls Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). According to the official announcement, the venture features the NFL and other major professional sports leagues, plus tennis grand slams, combat sports, and college games. It will be bundled with Disney+, Hulu, and/or Max, with pricing still in discussion.

WBD’s David Zaslav said the new service “exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans.”

Disney is making a one-two push for streaming sports videos. In addition to the joint venture, Disney-owned ESPN also plans to launch a stand-alone streaming service by fall 2025, ahead of  the NFL season. The larger ESPN streamer will provide subscribers with a full portfolio of game-day content, SportsCenter, talk shows, and analysis programs. According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the streaming service will include betting, fantasy sports, and deeper statistics, among other additional features.

MultiChoice and SuperSport suddenly announced a U-turn from initial discussions: it reached a commercially viable agreement with the Togolese pay-TV upstart New World TV and paid for TV rights to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) football tournament. A few days ago, MultiChoice and SuperSport said no to TV rights. Sibusiso Mjikeliso, a SuperSport communications manager, said "due to the structural nature and economics of the pay-TV business, we do not expect it to have any material impact on our business."

"By securing the rights to CAN 2023 under the leadership of Dr. Patrice Motsepe, SuperSport and NWTV prove that nothing is more important than the happiness of Africans who wish to follow the exploits of their favourite team during the biggest football competition in Africa,' Nimonka Kolani, New World TV’s managing director, said.

ESPN is reportedly finalizing a new six-year deal worth $7.8 billion with the College Football Playoff (CFP) that will keep the CFP on the channel through the 2031 season. However, due to the massive exit of 10 teams in the Pac-12 conference, unsolved format issues could void the agreement. 

“The CFP’s management committee and board of managers have meetings scheduled for next week and continue to work through the complicated process of settling their outstanding issues,” wrote The Athletic.

Tegna-owned WQAD will broadcast 10 Milwaukee Bucks NBA basketball games in the Quad Cities, including Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, and East Moline; this is, according to NBA's new deal with Diamond Sports Group’s Bally Sports Wisconsin and Weigel Broadcasting. Also, Morgan Murphy Media stations’ WISC-TV and TW digital channels will air ten games of The Milwaukee Bucks this season under the same broadcast deal.

“We’re thrilled to reach Bucks fans on broadcast television stations,” said Peter Feigin, president of the Milwaukee Bucks. “Over-the-air is an easy and affordable way for Bucks fans to watch our games, and we’re excited to work with Weigel and broadcasters like Tegna to make them widely available.”

Season 21 of Top Chef, a Bravo cooking competition series, will premiere on March 20th. It will feature new host Kristen Kish, the Korean American winner of season 10, and judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons. Set in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, fifteen chefs will join in a cheese-related competition for a $250,000 grand prize. Among these cheftestants, there are two Austin chefs, including African American Amanda Turner, French American Kévin D'Andresa, Houston-based African American Michelle Wallace, and Louisinanian Charly Pierre, New York-based Indian American Rasika Venkatesa, and Georgia-based Vietnamese American Kenny Nguyen. 

WWE superstar Amari Miller announced her departure from the sport on Instagram, saying she’s moving to the next chapter of her life. Signed with WWE in 2021, Miller was featured on 205 Live and NXT: Level Up.

“So today, WWE and I have parted ways, neither one of us decided to resign another contract so my 3 years are up. I am beyond grateful of what they have given me and taught me but my journey there has come to an end, when a door closes one door opens!” wrote Miller. 

Cooking competition MasterChef South Africa has opened entries for their fifth season. The latest season will return in June 2024 on SABC3.

Shea Hicks-Whitfield - HGTV

Lifestyle: HGTV renewed Bargain Block for a fourth season and ordered a spinoff series, Bargain Block: New Orleans; Both are set to premiere this fall. This home renovation reality series follows renovation experts and partners Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas who buy run down houses and restore them to affordable, stylish, and fully-furnished homes. 

“Millions of home renovation enthusiasts have tuned in to see Keith, Evan, and Shea’s passion for improving Detroit communities in Bargain Block for three seasons, making it a strong ratings driver for the network,” said Loren Ruch, the Group Senior Vice President of Development and Production for HGTV. “We know their legions of fans will want to follow them to New Orleans and watch them transform and preserve this one-of-a-kind city.”    

The Golden Bachelorette, a spinoff series of The Golden Bachelor, will debut on ABC this fall featuring a 71-year-old widower hunting for a life partner in her golden years. In the The Golden Bachelor, 72-year-old retiree Gerry Turner successfully found love among 22 women, marrying 69-year-old Theresa Nist. The original dating show brought in 43.4 million total viewers after 35 days. 

“This all-new iteration of the hit series will highlight one radiant woman’s second chance at love in her golden years,” said ABC about The Golden Bachelorette.