Reality Beat: Showtime Sports Announces Wilt Chamberlain Doc and Selena Gomez Inks 2 New Series
Docuseries: YouTube’s biggest ad innovation for 2023 will be taking a page from an old-fashioned TV blueprint. At the YouTube Brandcast upfront in New York, executives announced the introduction of 30-second unskippable ads in high-performing YouTube content on TVs. YouTube also has a new test in the works “Pause Experiences” for YouTube on TV, showing an ad when viewers pause a video, similar to the pause ads on Hulu four years ago. At the upfront YouTube execs boast massive reach: more than 150 million unique viewers in the U.S. watched YouTube and YouTube TV on televisions during 2022, according to Nielson estimates. Also, YouTube remains at the No. 1 spot as the most-watched service on TV screens in America, per Nielson. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan called this massive change a “seismic shift” when discussing the way people watch video content.
“More and more, viewers are tuning into YouTube on the biggest screen in their home… Viewers — especially younger viewers — no longer make a distinction between the kind of content they’re watching. When they turn on the TV, they want everything they love in one place — from their favorite creators, to blockbuster movies, to football. And they can find it all on YouTube.”
Shark Week is back to celebrate its 35th year on the Discovery Channel. Announced at Discovery’s upfront; Jason Mamoa will be the master of ceremonies. Mamoa will set up jaw-dropping events, epic journeys, first-time revelations, and groundbreaking scientific findings that fans can expect to induce adrenaline-boosting hours of original sharks news and exploring destinations – all of which are captured on-camera by Discovery’s science and research field teams.
“As the host of Shark Week, I am beyond excited to take you along on this journey,” said Momoa. “This project means more to me than a week of talking about sharks. It’s a chance for me to learn and share my connection to these amazing creatures. My love of sharks came long before my time as Aquaman – it began several generations before me.”
Tennis legend and superstar, Serena Williams we are featured in the upcoming ESPN docuseries “In the Arena: Serena Williams”. The news was announced at Disney’s upfront presentation. The longevity of Williams’ career has spanned over two decades with Williams accumulating 23 Grand Slam titles, making her one of the most decorated tennis players of all time. Her dominance in the tennis world overall created a huge cultural shift not only as an athlete but as a cultural cornerstone as well. The docuseries aims to present some of Williams's most personal moments whilst defining her career along with personal accounts from Williams herself and other monumental figures in her life.
The series description states, “Serena [Williams] fights to maintain her place atop the tennis world while juggling the transformational experience of starting a family.” Her “expansion of the franchise will be a multi-part series that provides the most complete, intimate and compelling account of her legendary career, featuring firsthand perspective from Serena [Williams] and key figures throughout her life.”
Univision, the American Spanish-language network will broadcast Super Bowl LVII next year, adding to the usual language outlets that air the game; the deal was struck as a partnership between the NFL and CBS Sports. Details were released at TelevisaUnivision’s upfront presentation as the company disclosed that its ViX streaming outlet has more than 30 million monthly active users worldwide.
Pierluigi Gazzolo, CEO of ViX, stated, “80% of consumption on VIX is content no one else has and, importantly, 63% of users on ViX are incremental to the massive audience we serve on linear, which means greater cross-platform reach for all of you.”
Fox will not be releasing a Fall schedule for the second year straight– news came from Fox’s upstart presentation. However, the broadcast network did release its primetime slate for the 2023’-24’ season. This slate, it features 13 scripted and 12 unscripted shows. With the news of We Are Family’s return, the announcement of Jamie and Corinne Foxx hosting the show comes a few days after Corinne announced on social media that her dad Jamie has been released from the hospital and is recovering following his recent health scare. Other renewals include Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test and I Can See Your Voice.
“Across every genre of FOX’s 2023-24 lineup, we continue to attract the brightest, most prolific creators in the industry,” Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade said. “As a result, our content portfolio continues to deliver balance and variety in its storytelling through the strength and stability of our returning favorites and tremendous creativity of our new series.”
The Queen of Bounce has aired a new eight-part docuseries. Big Freedia revealed a trailer in production with World of Wonder, the same producer as Ru Paul’s Drag Race, called Big Freedia Means Business. Freddie Ross, Jr. aka “Big Freedia” is the center of the series as it looks at how Freedia juggles business ventures, touring, rifts in her personal relationships, and more. Some of these business ventures include working on opening a hotel, starting a cannabis line, and launching her own beauty and fragrance lines. One other smash feature is chronicling the launch of her new album, dropping later this year. Freedia has worked with big named superstars like Beyoncé, featuring on “Break My Soul” from Beyoncé’s album “Renaissance”; along with big platforms like Netflix’s Strong Black Lead to create a “Hey Queen” bounce remix tied to the streaming giants “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story”.
Big Freedia stated: “World of Wonder has been so graciously involved in the telling of my life, I am beyond thrilled that the series will air on WOW Presents Plus in the U.K. I’m excited to tell my story, share my hard work and for this documentary series to showcase a side of me that many won’t have had the chance to see yet.”
Idris and Sabrina Elba has just secured a partnership with Zinc Media label Supercollider for the docuseries Paid in Full: The Battle for Payback for broadcasters CBC and BBC. The series will examine the exploitation of Black artists by the music industry and how different things would be if Black artists were to receive reparations for their due diligence. By documenting the extensive and historic injustice suffered at the hands of the music industry Black artists will come forward to discuss the disparity of profits given out despite claiming global success that has driven the culture of popular music and changed music as a whole. Racial inequality in the music industry will be discussed on many levels combing through incidents that have happened in the past and today.
Tanya Shaw, managing director, Zinc Television, stated: “Far from being a straight music documentary, this series will explore the music industry within a racial context and reflect the history of exploitation within the industry. It will also major in on conversations of structural racism and those who have worked so hard to expose them.”
Authentic Brands Group – the global brand development, marketing, and entertainment platform announced an expansion, the launch of Authentic Studios. Authentic Studios is a production studio aiming to develop and produce film, TV, and commercial content based on Authentic’s portfolio working with over 40-world-renowned brands. This next level is a sign of growth within the entertainment division formation at Authentic Studios counting superstars like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, and David Beckham amongst its portfolio, along with brands like Sports Illustrated, Reebok, Juicy Couture, Ted Baker, Brooks Brothers and Forever 21. Based in Beverley Hills, Authentic Studios is made up of four labels: Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends, David Beckham’s Studio 99, Sports Illustrated Studios, and Authentic Productions. Each faction is comprised of diverse content whilst looking for new material to develop and produce.
Karen Grant-Selma will now be leading Jesse Collins Entertainment as Executive Vice President, Head of Business & Legal Affairs. Previously, she served also served as Head of Business and Legal Affairs at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network where she negotiated deals for talent, production, and licenses for scripted and unscripted series. One of her many other tasks includes overseeing standards & practices, international sales, intellectual property, human resources, union administration, insurance, participation, rights management, and risk assessment. Grant proved to be an asset when negotiating deals for the network including Queen Sugar, David Makes Man, The Kings of Napa, All Rise, the Love & Marriage franchise, Super Soul Sunday, Ready to Love, and Put A Ring On It.
Tamaya Petteway has been named the SVP of Partnerships in Dick Clark Productions. She will manage DCP’s sponsorship division will directing revenue streams and profit related to sponsors, advertisers, locations, and venues; leading sales initiatives and strategies across all DCP platforms; Petteway will be based out of DCP’s Beverly Hills headquarters.
“Tamaya brings incredible experience, talent and authority to the role,” said Jay Penske, CEO, Chairman & Founder of Penske Media “Her unique skill set, enthusiasm for entertainment and creative approach are one of a kind and I look forward to watching her evolve the sponsorship strategy at DCP for the future.”
Tiffany Hadish will be working with Hearst Media Production Group after signing a development deal. Hadish will be executively producing two original unscripted series; the first being a documentary about successful women who had long romantic relationships with homeless men. Considering Haddish’s past, she has opened up multiple times about living out of her car to make ends meet prior to her success in Hollywood. The second untitled project is about a “psychotherapist, author, and lecturer Elliott Connie, whose latest book is entitled The Solution Focused Brief Therapy Diamond.”
“I partnered with HMPG on these projects to make a difference in people’s lives,” Haddish stated. “I’ve been unhoused before and I know how hard it is to get back on your feet. I also knew that my situation didn’t define me, nor did it make me believe that I was unworthy or unlovable. Everyone deserves a chance at love and a happy home. That’s why I’m making this show.”
All3Media International is taking Blue Therapy on for global distribution. E4, a Channel 4 portfolio network, has contracted a local version of the YouTube format with the distributor taking global finished tape and format rights. Blue Therapy is about diving into the complexity of modernized relationships between “five young, diverse and aspirational couples via therapy sessions”. During their stay, in a house the couples share, they will meet with relationship coaches to face conflicts in their partnerships surrounding many different topics like interracial relationships, class, children, careers, “gender norms”, and more. Originally, the series launched as a six-part reality show in 2021, quickly garnering millions of views across multiple locations; becoming an online sensation.
Rachel Job, All3Media International’s SVP Non-Scripted Content stated, “With exclusive, intimate access into the lives and relationships of five culturally diverse couples, the series breathes new life into universal dating debates and offers a forum for voices and cultures we rarely see on screen, especially on reality television.”
Showtime Sports is just got drafted and is back in the game! Announced this month, Showtime Sports is creating a new docuseries about NBA star, Wilt Chamberlain. The series titled Goliath is a three-part documentary examining the lavishly abundant life, career, and impact of Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA. The description reads as “Brash and confident, Chamberlain changed the way the game is played, broke records and racial barriers and challenged the unwritten rules for all athletes, especially black basketball players, conforming to his own standards on or off the court.” Using AI to recreate Chamberlain’s voice, Chamberlain will narrate his own story along with footage provided by the Chamberlain estate. The years of his early life and childhood to his first emergence on a national scale during his high school years in the 1950s and following on through his many arcs as an NBA player and finally his death in 1999 – each episode will discuss his cultural impact whilst focusing on many themes like power, money, race, sex, politics, and the ups and downs of being a celebrity will be featured throughout.
“We are honored to team up with this group of talented filmmakers to bring the underexamined story of Wilt Chamberlain’s complex life to the masses,” stated Stephen Espinoza, president of Showtime Sports. “Everybody knows Wilt for his legendary accomplishments on the basketball court – scoring 100 points in a game, averaging 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season – but there’s so much more to him than his stats. He was far ahead of his time in so many ways that will last infinitely longer than the numbers on a scoreboard.”
CNN has yet another original series on the way, “See it Loud: The History of Black Television. The five-episode docuseries, produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, through their SpringHill Company, is set to debut Sunday, July 9 at 9 p.m. The series aims to explore the impact of Black television and culture on popular culture; from The Jeffersons and Roots, to the impact of reality and unscripted TV. The series will include interviews with Deon Cole, Desus & Mero, Gabrielle Union, Jimmie Walker, Judge Greg Mathis, Kevin Frazier, Ruben Studdard, Sherri Shepherd, Sonequa Martin-Green, Tatyana Ali, Tiffany Pollard, Tisha Campbell, Vivica A. Fox, and more.
The loglines read, “Today we are in the midst of what is being widely referred to as ‘The Golden Age of Black Television;’ however, this ‘Golden Age’ is the culmination of an eighty-year struggle for Black artists to find a voice and fight for representation.”
Own
Docusoap: OWN’s series: Love & Marriage will be taking place in Detroit next season; previous seasons were hosted in Huntsville and Washington D.C. This season will be introducing an all-new group of Black community members and leaders facing troubles/challenges in their marriages. The series will showcase Black families with strong ties to Detroit that decided to stay and prove that you can have the best life possible in what OWN calls a “community on a comeback”. The stars of the show will feature Russell and Kolby Harris, Brandon, and Kristina Bowman Smith, and Anthony and Dr. LaToya Thompson. The Smith Family has two young daughters, Brandon owns an artist development program Star Factory and Kristina is a fashion designer. The Thompsons have two sons, Anthony works for Live Nation whilst owning a production studio and LaToya works as a physical therapist also owning Opulence Wines. Love & Marriage: Detroit will premiere on June 24.
“Detroit is on the rise and so are the people. It’s a city where Black culture is strong. This reemerging city is all about family, friendship, business, excellence and of course, love and marriage,” stated OWN.
The Writers Guild streak continues on as unscripted content is expected to dominate programming grids. Rising costs, shifting consumer tastes, and the emergence of streaming platforms have had an extreme effect on consumerism today. One effect is “Big Brother”; the hugest challenge to the network at the time – broadcast in 1999 in the Netherlands and eventually syndicated to more than 60 countries worldwide.
“It was a gigantic challenge when we decided to produce ‘Big Brother’ again after 10 years had passed since the last edition,” stated Guillermo Pendino, VP content and programming, FTA Brands, Latam Sur, Paramount (Argentina-Chile). “It was no longer the same world, there were the platforms, the social networks and you had to speak to a new audience, an audience that didn’t even know what ‘Big Brother’ was because they were still very young the last time it was broadcast,” he explained. “From Paramount we see the unscripted format as a great opportunity, especially at Telefe Argentina and Chilevisión,” he said.
Today ‘Big Brother’ is even more successful than it was 20 years ago, it offers multiple business opportunities, on and off the screen,” stated Michelle Wasserman, Banijay Rights’ senior VP LatAm, U.S. Hispanic and Brazil.
Anna Shay, from Netflix’s Bling Empire, has died at the age of 62. Shay starred in two seasons on the Netflix show, known for her incredulous amount of wealth. During the show she engaged in a rivalry with international fashionista, Christine Chiu, in addition to being involved in a complex love triangle between not one, but three other co-stars; Kelly Mi Li, self-made entrepreneur, Kevin Kreider, model, and ex-boyfriend “Power Rangers”. During her rise to fame, she faced controversy due to speculations about the origins of her wealth. According to NBC, Shay’s father founded Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE) covering the Phoenix Program, a CIA-led operation to scan for undercover communist Viet Cong. Despite the controversy, many co-stars including Kim Lee, Florent Bonadei, and Cherie Chan expressed their condolences. Shay is survived by her only son Kenny Kemp.
“It saddens our hearts to announce that Anna Shay, a loving mother, grandmother, charismatic star, and our brightest ray of sunshine, has passed away at the early age of 62 from a stroke,” her family announced in a statement to media on June 5. “Anna taught us many life lessons on how not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the finer things. Her impact on our lives will be forever missed but never forgotten.”
Heather Olander, former NBCUniversal exec, joined the CW after Nexstar acquired the network following Brad Schwartz, being hired, as President of Entertainment. Olander works at the CW as Head of Unscripted Programming where she helped completely transform the old CW filled with “youth-skewing scripted dramas” and replace it with lower-cost co-productions and unscripted television. She discusses challenging times for unscripted television, considerable changes like unscripted budgets coming down across the board along with no significant boost as a result of the writer’s strike.
“We need tentpoles, that’s the big thing. We need a couple of big, loud, shiny shows that can make some noise, that work on their own and market themselves and FBoy is a great example of that,” Olander states. “It’s on the higher end of the financial scale for us, but it’s well-known IP.”
Netflix
Competitive Series: Get ready to bring out your inner Squid – the reality competition version of Squid Games is coming to Netflix. The news broke at Netflix’s first Upfronts event that the new season will be called Squid Game: The Challenge will be premiering sometime later this year. As Netflix’s biggest series ever, 456 players will be competing against each other for $4.56M cash – the largest cash prize ever for a reality series. During this ten-part series contestants will compete against in each other in a series of games and challenges inspired by the show plus some original ideas that will test their strategies, alliances, and character to eliminate their competitors.
For all the hopeless romantic lovers out there, Love Is Blind is set to premiere Season 5 in September. To catch up, Love Is Blind follows an array of single men and women from one specific area (Seattle, Season 4) as they go on blind speed dates in what the show calls “pods” and get engaged before they get to see each other face to face. Last season’s live reunion special suffered some technical difficulties causing it to air some 19 hours later – the special, taped in front of an in-person audience, despite issues, garnered 6.5 million. Viewers, according to Netflix.
Hulu will be streaming a new matchmaking series focusing on Muslim Americans trying to find love. The unscripted series and TBA name is produced by ABC News Studios created by Smriti Mundhra, the creator of the popular Netflix dating series Indian Matchmaking and executive producer of Jewish Matchmaking. Another executive producer, Senain Kheshgi (Project Kashmir), and executive editorial producer Poh Si Teng will be overseeing the project for ABC News Studios. The series has been in development since 2022 and will debut on Hulu next year.
“As a Muslim American, I’m excited to be part of a show that celebrates love and romance within our community,” added Kheshgi. “In a world where negative stereotypes often paint Muslims as monolithic, this is an important opportunity to showcase the unique stories, personalities and perspectives of our diverse community. I’m thrilled to be part of a project that has the potential to bring people together and positively impact the way Muslim Americans are perceived and understood.”
Something seems to be cooking in the kitchen – Fox has served up a new season of Crime Scene Kitchen, Joel McHale’s mystery baking competition, and is bringing several new celebrity guest judges to the table. Some of these guest judges include Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Nene Leakes, country music star Martina McBride, Next Level Chef (Gordon Ramsay food competition series) and Top Chef star Richard Blais, and NBA champion and Special Forces (competition series) contestant Dwight Howard. The Season Two premiere is described as “six self-taught baking teams arrive at the Crime Scene Kitchen to start their hunt for clues, leading them to the mystery dessert,” per Fox. “The teams with the best crime-solving technique advance to the next week, and the duo with the poorest performance of the night heads home.” During Week Two of the second season, viewers will be introduced to the rest of the 12-team lineup – making it six duos of trained bakers fighting for the grand prize.
Big Brother’s start date has been pushed back due to the writer’s strike. Originally the show was set to air in the Summer but has been pushed back to shoring up the Fall lineup as a precautionary for labor actions that might delay production for the scripted series. Big Brother is set to debut on August 2, airing weekly on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The start date is one month later than when the show usually premieres, meaning the end date will likely be in October. The Writers Guild of America strike, if continued, will cause the pushback for the start of shows usually airing midsummer to start in the Fall – making CBS, in this case, fill three more hours of original programming out of its weekly schedule. The strike has reached its fourth week and no negotiations have been made on either side.
American Idol announced a new champion – Iam Tongi. Tongi is a Hawaiian teen that was voted Season Six champion. The three-hour finale featured finalists Tongi, Megan Danielle, and Colin Stough. Tongi, 18, from Kahuku, Hawaii sang a mix of pop and folk with an island twist. Danielle, 21, from Georgia, sang a mix of country and gospel. Stough, 18, from Mississippi is a country singer. Judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie performed during the season finale along with guest performances by Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, Ellie Goulding, James Blunt, Jelly Roll, Kylie Minogue, Lauren Daigle, and Pitbull. A former judge from Seasons 12-15, Keith Urban, performed as well as mentored the three finalists.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, former VP and general manager of KGMB-KHNL Honolulu, stated on Twitter, “It is a proud day for Hawai’i, and all of the residents of Kahuku especially. For Iam and his family this is a very special life changing event that he has proven he deserves with his tremendous talent and even bigger heart! Mahalo @wtongi … you have made us all so very proud!”
The second-place runner-up for Korea’s Got Talent the 33-year-old Choi Sung-bong, an operatic singer, has passed away from an apparent suicide. Choi was found dead by Korean authorities at his home in the Yeoksam-dong district in Southern Seoul on Tuesday, June 20th.
Choi who went on to secure a recording contract and published his own memoirs, got caught in a scandal when he launched a national fundraising campaign in 2021, where he claimed he was diagnosed with cancer and needed money for treatment. It was later found out that his claim was a hoax, and Choi vowed to return the funds to his supporters. In addition, Choi uploaded a YouTube the day before he died.
Recently, a vote was passed between the NFL and Amazon; by the skin of one’s teeth, allowing Amazon to “change out up to two games on its late-season Thursday Night Football schedule should they start appearing in advance to the uncompetitive matchups”. Amazon will be paying the NFL $1 billion for every season in order to have exclusive TV rights to Thursday Night Football. The package’s 2022 turkey schedule is solely believed to be main reason why total TNF viewership was down 41% last year. The vote was 24-8 to allow “flex scheduling” on Thursday nights. NFL Teams Giants, Jets, Packers, Bears, Raiders, Bengals, and Steelers voted against the partnership. The newly instated rule will affect weeks 13-17 of the 2023 schedule, nonetheless, Amazon has three main rules to follow by:
> Amazon must provide 28 days notice if it wants to make a flex.
> No team can be compelled to play on TNF more than twice a season.
> No team can be compelled to be a road team on TNF more than once a season.
Season 20 of The Bachelorette suitors has just been released. Charity Lawson will have a pick of twenty-five suitors ad her journey to love begins, Lawson a fan favorite from Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor, will be the leading lady for Season 20, marking the series’ 20th season since airing on June 26. On The Bachelor Season 27, Lawson was the fourth runner-up after Shallcross met her family. Lawson is 27 years old working as a child and family therapist in Columbus, Ohio. She earned her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Auburn University. Her ABC bio describes her as “searching for a life partner who loves dogs, thrifting and a good tailgate; but, above all else, is honest, empathetic and values her for who she is.” ABC also states she is “eager to find lasting love”; the kind her parents, married for over 47 years have.
The league’s new regional sports network “MLB San Diego Padres” will launch on DirecTV platforms, Charter Spectrum, Cox Communications, and Fubo in Southern California starting Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. EST, when the Padres go up against the Florida Marlins. A DirecTV press release states that the new channel can be found on DirecTV linear satellite channel 694-3, DirecTV stream 694, and on U-verse via HD channel 1781 and SD channel 781. In the program guides on DirecTV, the channel will show up as “Padres”
“We will always do our best to ensure fans can continue to access the games while we work behind the scenes with leagues, teams or other would-be rights holders to deliver the best live local sports into the communities we serve,” stated Rob Thun, chief content officer of DirecTV.
The Iron Sheik, the WWE Hall of Famer, has passed away at the age of 81. News of the Hall of Famer’s passing was announced on The Iron Sheik’s official Twitter on June 7. Better known as Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri leaves behind his wife Caryl of 47 years, his children Marissa, Tanya, Nikki, and son-in-law Eddie; as well as five grandchildren and two nephews. The announcement read:
"Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature, and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling. It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of The Iron Sheik, but we also take solace in knowing that he departed this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy that will endure for generations to come."
Star Violet Chachki, Season 7 winner from RuPaul’s Drag Race, will be honored by the Tom of Finland Foundation. Chachki will be honored with the Cultural Icon Award at the Tom of Finland Foundation’s 30th annual Tom’s Bar fundraiser. The event will take place June 18th at The Avalon & Bardot Hollywood in Los Angeles – the theme being “All roads lead to Tom”.
“Tom’s Bar is a place where all corners of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies converge for a big party under one roof,” ToFF creative director Richard Villani stated “Leathermen, pups, kinksters and fetishists of all stripes are welcome to dance and party all day long.”
Top Chef champion, Buddha Lo, is joining the race once again. Lo is competing to become the first-ever Top Chef: World All-Stars champion. Lo won Season 19 of Top Chef, set in Houston, Texas. Stakes are high as Lo has his eyes set on being the first contestant ever to win the US Top Chef title twice. Lo is an obvious fan favorite, more so than last year as he has done better in challenges, winning eight overall. He won elimination challenges like “Cheeky Pints and Pub Bites” and “Restaurant Wars.” He also won quickfire challenges like “Hands Off” and “Street Food Fight.” Consecutively in two separate episodes, he won “Battle of the Wellingtons” and “Goodbye, London!”. Albeit he sounds impossible to beat but is not invincible. He dropped to one of the bottom chefs in “Holiday Vacation” and “Thali Time” in which he made mistakes whilst making rice; and again, in the second to last episode “Champions in Paris” where fellow finalist, Sara Bradley, won the elimination challenge sending her straight to the finale. Will Lo rise to the top of will his streak end, to be seen?
Larry Myers Jr., star of TLC’s My 600-Lb, Life, has died of a heart attack on June 13, he was 49. His death was confirmed via a Facebook post by his cousin Todd Darrell. Myers first came on the scene in 2022; an aspiring gospel singer who went viral after he sang an ode to one of his favorite meals.
“It’s with great sorrow that we announce the passing of my dear cousin Larry Myers,” Darrell wrote, adding “Larry has fought the good fight. He has overcome some of the biggest Challenges he has ever had to face. Rest well Junior, you will be missed.”
Lifestyle: Selena Gomez will be hosting two new series on the Food Network as part of its upcoming programming slate. Gomez, star of Only Murders in the Building” and host of the cooking series Selena + Chef at HBO Max, will be starring in a “celebration-focused series” that is set to debut during the holiday season later this year. Taking a new spin, Gomez will launch a show where she will be “meeting up with some of the best chefs in the country in a quest to cook their most popular dishes when she visits their kitchens.”
Kathleen Finch, Warner Bros. Discovery’s chairman and chief content officer US Networks, stated at an upfront presentation to advertisers; “The holidays are always huge for Food Network, reaching nearly 60M P2+ viewers, and having Selena kicking off the nearly 100 hours of new and returning holiday programming will certainly make this coming season one to celebrate.”
Padma Lakshmi is leaving Top Chef.
Lifetime seems to be spreading its wings, the network is working on developing a new version of HGTV’s Property Virgins along with picking up various episodes, starring Egypt Sherrod, that previously aired on Discovery network. Everything But The House with Lara Spencer has two seasons that have picked up along with a number of unaired episodes. A reboot of Property Virgins is also in the works; as well as a new host, thanks to Cineflix Productions – expected to air 2024. Lifetime bought the rights from producers rather than the network leading them to acquire both series.