Small Screen: ABC Announcing Premiere Of ‘Woman Of The Movement;’ Tyler Perry's ‘Sistas’ Renewed, ‘Squid Game’ Major Success In Quarterly Earnings Report
Broadcast: Marissa Jo Cerar has created/written a new limited series entitled Women of the Movement. It is set to premiere on ABC Thursday January 6th at p.m. ‘Inspired by the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson, the six-episode limited series is set in 1955. It centers on Mamie Till-Mobley (Adrienne Warren), who risks her life to find justice after her son Emmett (Cedric Joe) is brutally murdered in the Jim Crow South. Unwilling to let Emmett’s murder disappear from the headlines, Mamie chooses to bear her pain on the world stage, emerging as an activist for justice and igniting the Civil Rights movement as we know it today. The series also features Glynn Turman, Chris Joy, Julia McDermott, Carter Jenkins, Tonya Pinkins, Ray Fisher and Timothy Hutton.’
ABC has placed a new pilot order for a single camera project entitled The Son-in-Law. The comedy comes from writer Ajay Saghal (The Carmichael Show, Netflix’s Merry Happy Whatever) and Disney’s 20th Television ‘The potential series follows a salt of the earth man who finds himself seeking the approval of his new fiancée’s sophisticated parents — even as he’s a difficult to impress father-in-law to his daughter’s longtime boyfriend.’ In addition to penning the pilot, Saghal will executive produce alongside Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D., Fresh Off the Boat) of The Detective Agency. As of now, it has not been announced if the show will be considered for 2022-23.
From Top left to right: KJ Smith, Ebony Obsidian, Crystal Renee Hayslett, Mignon Von, and Novi Brown - BET
Cable: Tyler Perry’s Sistas has been renewed for a fourth season at BET. The one-hour drama Sistas follows a group of single Black females as they navigate their “complicated love life,” careers and friendship through the ups and downs of living in a modern world of social media and unrealistic relationship goals. The women must navigate this new-age dating scene as they continue to search for love in their 30’s. Sistas ensemble cast includes KJ Smith, Mignon, Ebony Obsidian, Novi Brown, Crystal Renee’ Hayslett, DeVale Ellis, Chido Nwokocha, Anthony Dalton II, Brian Jordan Jr., Kevin A. Walton, and Trinity Whiteside. The news comes after the release of Tyler Perry’s other projects premiering. The Tyler Perry Show: The Sistas After-Show Edition‘s second conversation special will air Wednesday, December 22 at 10 PM ET/PT on BET and BET Her.
Squid Games - Netflix
Streaming: Netflix’s quarterly earnings report has shown the major success of Squid Game. The streamer has even gone on to say this smash hit from South Korea will change the way it publicly reveals viewing data announcing that in the future it will report total hours viewed within 28 days of release, rather than the two-minute “view” metric it’s used for the past couple of years. The shareholders letter proclaims “We think engagement as measured by hours viewed is a slightly better indicator of the overall success of our titles and member satisfaction. It also matches how outside services measure TV viewing and gives proper credit to rewatching.” Netflix also says it will “more regularly” release hours-viewed counts “so our members and the industry can better measure success in the streaming world.” The change in viewing metrics the company publicly shares is the second in as many years for Netflix. The company switched to the two-minute standard with the fourth quarter of 2019; prior to that, it counted any member account that completed 70 percent of a movie or 70 percent of a single TV series episode as a view.
A series adaptation based on Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller novel has been announced at Peacock entitled Last Light. All the stars have been cast and include ‘Alex Scarrow’s bestselling apocalyptic thriller novel. Amber Rose Revah (The Punisher), Victor Alli (Belfast, Grantchester), and Hakeem Jomah (Rashash, Kidnap) are set as leads opposite Matthew Fox and Joanna Froggatt in the limited series from MGM International TV Productions in association with Nordic Entertainment Group’s Viaplay.’ The show will depict a family's journey for survival in a world of chaos. ‘Fay will portray Sam Yeats. Eight-year-old Sam is fighting a degenerative eye disease that is slowly taking away his sight. His descent into darkness is happening at a time the rest of the world is facing a global energy crisis that threatens to plunge the world into darkness. He and his mother will lean on each other for support in getting through these dark days.Revah will play Mika Bakhash. Mika’s job is to ensure energy-related compliance between big oil and the British government. When the world faces a global energy crisis, Mika will use professional contacts and investigational savvy to help Andy find a solution to the growing energy problem.Jomah will portray Khalil Al-Qatani. Khalil is the head of a big oil company who is committed to moving away from their economic reliance on oil and toward a huge investment in renewable energy resources. Even as enemies within his company try to derail his progressive programs, he will assist Andy and Mika in their quest for a solution to the emerging global energy crisis.’
Netflix has renewed the multi-camera comedy Family Reunion for its third and final season. The stars include Loretta Devine and Tia Mowry-Hardict. The third season is cut from 20 episodes in the first season to 10 episodes. Meg DeLoatch, the creator of the program will remain involved however has handed over showrunning duties to Adreinne Carter, known for Everybody Hate’s Chris, and Arthur Harris, known for Living Single. The returning cast members are Anthony Alabi, Talia Jackson, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Cameron J. Wright and Jordyn Raya James and Richard Roundtree. DeLoatch, now showrunner for CBS’ The Neighborhood’, had this to say about the renewal/cancelation: “I am so excited that Family Reunion will be returning for a third season. I will always be grateful to Netflix for giving me the opportunity to finally tell my story and the platform to share the beautiful, loving and joyous McKellan family with the world.”
Apple TV+’s sci-fi drama series Wool, has cast a new member. Common, the grammy winning rapper known for his role in John Wick: Chapter 2 will be portraying Sims, the silo’s head of judicial security. ‘Wool, based on Hugh Howey’s best-selling trilogy of novels, is set in a future dystopia where a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep, where they believe they’re protected from a toxic atmosphere.’ Other members of the cast include: Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Fallout), Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption), Rashida Jones (The Office) and David Oyelowo (Selma). Morten Tyldum will direct with Graham Yost penning the script. Yost, Tyldum and Ferguson are executive producing alongside Nina Jack, Fred Golan, Remi Aubuchon and Ingrid Escajeda, who also serve as executive producers on the drama, produced by AMC Studios.
