Small Screen: Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Yearly Departed’ Celebrates The End Of 2020, Plus Developments From Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions
ABC
Broadcast: A new period drama exploring the lives of three Jamaican immigrants in Great Britain is coming to ITV from Sir Lenny Henry. Set during the 1950s, Three Little Birds will follow three women, sisters Leah and Chantrelle and their friend Hosanna, after they leave from St. Anne to London and onward to their destination in the Midlands region. Despite being confronted with racism and discrimination, the three aim to start new lives full of opportunities for themselves in their new home after leaving their loved ones behind. Three Little Birds is inspired by the stories Henry’s mother told him of her own immigration experience, weaving together fictionalized stories and the real-life accounts of his mother’s life. “The stories she told and indeed the narratives my brothers and sisters beguiled me with over the dinner table made me think about writing a fictional account of three Caribbean women; all with differing yet complementary attributes…They all get to the UK with one thing on their minds - a new life.” Written by Henry with consultation from executive producer Russell T. Davies, the six-episode limited series is a co-production between Douglas Road Productions and Tiger Aspect.
NBC has renewed the CTV medical drama Transplant for a second season. Starring Hamza Haq, the series centers on a Syrian doctor after he relocates to Canada in search of a better life; Laurence Lebouef, John Hannah, Jim Watson and Ayisha Issa also star. A joint production between Sphere Media, CTV and NBCUniversal International Studios, Transplant features an executive production team composed of creator Joseph Kay, Jocelyn Deschenes, Bruno Dube, Randy Lennox, Virginia Rankin, Jeremy Spry and Tara Woodbury.
Demographic Breakdown of ViacomCBS Workforce
As part of its ongoing efforts at boosting network diversity, ViacomCBS has published the current demographic breakdown of its workforce, offering transparency into its inclusion- and diversity-boosting process. Breaking down the demographics of its 16,612 domestic employees, the data reveal a majority white workforce- 63.8% of its employees as of July 31. In contrast, the dearth of people of color is roughly equal across all groups, with approximately 11.6% Hispanic or Latino employees, 11.3% Black or African American employees and 10.3% Asian employees; this lack of representation is paralleled in ViacomCBS’ executive ranks, with less than 25% executives of color. Outlined in the recently launched ViacomCBS diversity and inclusion website are initiatives for improving on representation at the network, including various employee programs and increased opportunities for talent from underrepresented groups.
ABC will be developing The Three Joaquins, a Latinx family drama from writers and executive producers Manuel Figueroa and Jordan Heimer, the writing duo best known for their work on Stumptown. Set in Pasadena, the upcoming series follows a wealthy Latinx family who must deal with a sudden change in their lives when the secrets of the family patriarch start to slowly catch up to him and affect his family. Produced by ABC Signature, The District’s Ruben Fleischer and David Bernad will also act as executive producers on the series, with The District’s Elias Gertler responsible for production oversight.
Kang Hanna - Chung Sung-Jun
Cable: Kang Hanna has been confirmed to be joining Jang Ki-yong, Hyeri, Kim Do-wan and Bae In-hyuk in the cast of tvN’s upcoming Frightening Cohabitation, a series adaptation of the popular webtoon of the same name. Following the love story between a gumiho approaching 1000-years-old, played by Jang, and Hyeri’s 22-year-old college student character, Kang takes on a main role as a beautiful former gumiho and a long-time friend of Jang’s character. Kim will be paired opposite Kang as a hopeless romantic and the best friend of Hyeri’s character who falls for the beautiful ex-gumiho, while Bae’s character complicates the series’ main romance by creating a love triangle in the relationship between Jang and Hyeri’s characters. Frightening Cohabitation premiers in 2021.
BET founder Robert L. Johnson has recently been named to the board of directors at Discovery Inc., effective January 1. On the board, Johnson will serve as a Class I common stock director, lending his expertise in media to the network as it prepares for the January 4 launch of Discovery+ in the United States. Offering over 55,000 hours of Discovery Channel, TLC, ID, Food Network and HGTV content on-demand, Discovery+ is already available internationally in 25 countries.
Crystal Lee Brown, Cecil Blutcher, Carlos Gomez and Barbara Weetman are joining the cast of Starz’s Hightown in recurring roles ahead of its second season. Picking up almost immediately after the events of Season 1 with only a 6-week time gap, Season 2 builds on the reversal of fortunes and the flaws of its main characters that were explored in the series’ first season. As Janelle, Brown plays a levelheaded prison physical therapist whose demeanor wins her favor with her patients. Blutcher’s Vernon is an artist at the prison who deals with personal demons as a recovering addict. Rafael, played by Gomez, is a fisherman and the father of Monica Raymund’s Jackie. Rounding out the casting additions is Weetman, who will play Callie, a former beauty queen with a checkered past and a penchant for drinking. Created by Rebecca Cutter with an executive producing team composed of Jerry Bruckheimer Television’s Cutter, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed alongside writers Gary Lennon and Ellen H. Schwartz, the series is a joint production between Starz Originals, Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Lionsgate Television.
Streaming: Eros Now, one of the leading streaming platforms for Indian content, recently unveiled an upcoming lineup of 46 new titles that are to be added in 2021, including 33 film premiers and 13 original series. The push for new content is part of a larger effort to better serve Eros Now’s global audience base by responding to an increased demand for more content and by offering more consumer engagement opportunities with its current #KahaaniHarRangKi campaign promoted by Bollywood stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Kartik Aaryan. With approximately 211.5 million registered users, of which approximately 36.2 million are paid subscribers, Eros Now leveraged its massive proprietary user database to curate a content lineup that would best serve the interests of its Indian and global diaspora target audience. Joining a content library that already boasts over 12,000 films, upcoming Eros Now originals include Modi Season 2, Metro Park 2 and Salt City; new programming will vary with productions in eight different languages, including Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi.
A series adaptation of Obehi Janice’s play Ole White Sugah Daddy is coming to Amazon Prime Video from Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, Amazon Studios and Big Beach. Following Nigerian American tech professional Janice, the Boston-based series follows the daily challenges she faces as a woman in tech such as dealing with co-workers, the uphill battle to secure funding for her Neighbr app and balancing the expectations of friends and family who hope to entice her to return to her hometown. Written by Janice, the currently untitled series will be executive produced by Janice, Hillman Grad’s Waithe and Rishi Rajani and Big Beach’s Robin Schwartz and Kyle Laursen, with oversight from Rajani and Rocio Melara for Hillman Grad alongside Laursen and Simone Harris for Big Beach. News of the upcoming production was soon followed by the announcement that Hillman Grad will be launching the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, a 10-month mentorship program to help aspiring storytellers from underrepresented groups break into television writing, screen acting and executive development; those interested in applying can do so online through January 10.
Streaming options for Latin American audiences are on the rise, with Starz’s Starzplay international app becoming available in Colombia while compatibility for FOX Entertainment’s Tubi streaming service has now been integrated for Roku users in Mexico. Colombian audiences can now stream hundreds of film and television offerings, including same-day streaming availability for programs broadcast in the United States, by downloading the Starzplay app on iOS or Android. In Mexico, viewers who own Roku devices are now able to download the Tubi app, giving them access to thousands of film and television titles, including the Rubén Zamora-, Bárbara de Regil- and Carla Nieto-starred film Consciencia. Tubi's Director of Global Business Development, Andrea Clarke-Hall, lauded the streaming service’s “partnership with Roku in Mexico,” as “fundamental to [their] mission to provide premium entertainment at no cost and accessible.” Clarke-Hall went on to say that the new deal allows Mexican “Roku users…to enjoy an immense catalog that includes some of the world's most popular titles in Spanish.”
Amazon Prime Video has released the trailer for its upcoming one-hour comedy special Yearly Departed. Featuring an all-women talent lineup of Phoebe Robinson, Rachel Brosnahan, Tiffany Haddish, Patti Harrison, Natasha Legerro, Sarah Silverman, Natasha Rothwell and Ziwe, the comediennes hilariously bid adieu to 2020 and its never-ending onslaught of bad news, including the pandemic, murder hornets and election stress. An Amazon Studios-Done + Dusted co-production, the special is directed by Linda Mendoza and is executive produced by Brosnahan, Paige Simpson, David Jammy, Katy Mullan, Samantha Ressler, Nathalie Love and head writer Bess Kalb. Yearly Departed premiers December 30.
