Small Screen: Ambitions Is Back & New Diverse Programming
Joe Seer | Shutterstock
Network: Last week, Mindy Kaling claimed the television academy tried to denounce her work as a producer on The Office in an interview with Elle. “…they made me, not any of the other producers, fill out a whole form and write an essay about all my contributions as a writer and a producer,” said Kaling. She went on to say that her other white, male colleagues had to write letters to the academy that Kaling had been a contributor to the show, when she insists that her record spoke for itself. The academy responded to Kaling’s comments saying that no one was singled out: “At the time the Producers Guild worked with the Television Academy to correctly vet producer eligibility,” they said. Responding on Twitter to their statement, Kaling said that their reasoning didn’t make sense, and that their were other producers from the show who were not cut from the list, just her — a junior producer and woman of color.
The Showtime drama series set to shoot in 2020 The President Is Missing, has announced David Oyelowo as the star. Based on the novel by James Paterson and Bill Clinton, The President Is Missing tells the story of the Vice President unexpectedly ascending to power as the president in the midst of a crisis. “Having him as our lead ensures that our series will have the exhilarating suspense of a political thriller along with the juicy complexity of a character drama,” said the President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks, Gary Levine.
Black Bitch, the upcoming political series co-produced by Rachel Griffiths is coming to ABC, and not the Disney one. In coordination with Australian Broadcasting Company, Griffiths is bringing a new kind of show to the Australian market. One that tackles gender, and race through the lens of Australian politics and the rise of populism. “We haven’t had a show in Australia that was quite serious political satire,” said Griffiths. Black Bitch, which ABC renamed to Total Control (while Keshet International will keep its original namesake) follows Indigenous woman Alex Irving (Deborah Mailman) is chosen by the Prime Minister to be at the forefront after a tragic shooting. The two butt heads vying for power, Alex wanting to make a difference in politics while the Prime Minister has her own designs.
Cable: OWN’s soap opera style drama, Ambitions has announced their midseason release date and will be back gracing screens Tuesday, November 12. Before going on hiatus the show ended with Senior Lancaster murdered outside of his restaurant by an unknown killer. The story will pick back up with Rondell (Brely Evans) and Evan (Brian White) persuing justice for their father, Stephanie (Robin Givens) and Amara (Essence Atkins) going head to head once again.
The Perfectionists came and went with only one season on Freeform, but the next teen suspense drama, Close Up, has recently started production and finished casting. The mystery-themed show will be produced by the creator of How to Get Away With Murder, Peter Nowalk and Mary Rohlich. Fivel Stewart is set to lead the series alongside Yaani King Mondschein, and Sean Blakemore, who most recently played Willy Levant in the space film Ad Astra.
Though it is not certain what platform it will launch on, a spinoff series of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is in development. Will Smith’s media company, Westbrook, will back the production-based on the original show that spanned from 1990 to 1996.
Erin Simkin | Hulu
Streaming: Well, HBO Max, Peacock, Apple Streaming, and now the latest (and certainly not the last) streaming service to join the craze is AMC Theatres. They announced Tuesday the launch of their service, which will be available to members of their loyalty program. This news makes AMC, the largest cinema chain in the world, the first cinema operator to launch a streaming platform. “AMC Theatres is in a unique position to promote specific movies with greater personalization than has ever been possible before,” said Adam Aron, the Chief Executive of AMC Theatres.
Adding to her streaming gains, Kerry Washington who will also be in the Hulu series, Little Fires Everywhere is set to star in The Prom with Netflix opposite other big names like Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. The show is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name and is one of many Netflix projects under Ryan Murphy.