Small Screen: Byron Allen's $290 Million Deal & Diversity For The Holidays
The Grio
Network: Byron Allen acquires 11 local TV stations from USA Television for $290 million. According to reports, his company, Entertainment Studios bought stations spanning over ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX affiliates, serving small to mid-sized cities. This deal is just one of many different acquisitions and transactions ‘in the works’ for Allen. Entertainment Studios also obtained stations in Louisiana and Indiana in July for $165 million and is a partner in the sports network run by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Cynthia Erivo is set to star as the Queen of Soul in NatGeo’s Genius. The third season of the show will feature real footage of Franklin’s performances and of course, Erivo singing a variety of songs from Aretha’s discography. The filming begins this November with a premiere air-date in the Spring of 2020. Executive producer Brian Grazer said in a statement, “Not only is she an incredible and bona fide star, but she is soulful and has tremendous depth as a musical artist. Cynthia is the perfect person to portray the profoundly human story behind the genius that is Aretha.”
Lifetime
Cable: As a part of Tyler Perry’s major deal with Viacom, the mogul will team up with Nickelodeon for a new live-action series that will star 10-year-old rapper, Young Dylan. The plot involves a family’s life being shaken up by their nephew who is an aspiring hip-hop star. Perry gave the news to the young actor on Ellen, in real-time, to his surprise. The Nickelodeon President, Brian Robbins said: “It’s a thrill to bring this new series to Nickelodeon from the incredibly talented and prolific Tyler Perry, whose track record speaks for itself.”
There’s nothing that kicks off the holiday season more than Christmas movies. This season, however many of the cable networks will bring diversity with many actors of color in lead roles. Starting with OWN, which will put out its first original movie, One Fine Christmas. Reports say that from the end of October to December, cable networks will debut 90-holiday films, with executives stating that there is to have more diverse storylines. Movies like, Lifetime’s A Sweet Christmas, is a perfect example of this including names like Loretta Devine in main roles. Viewers can also look forward to flicks like, Dear Santa, I Need a Date, on TV One starring Ray-J, and other Lifetime movies that will feature diverse names like Tatyanna Ali, Kim Fields, and Kelly Rowland.
P. Sean Gupta tapped to SVP strategy and business operations at BET Networks. In this new role, Gupta will oversee development in strategy, mainly the cultivation of long-term opportunities. Before this promotion Gupta worked for BET as an executive, most notably a part of a team that launched BET + premium streaming platforms. “His instrumental role in our recent BET+ deal only serves to further illustrate the ways that we lean on Sean’s innovative and collaborative approach to business development,” said BET president Scott Mills.
Streaming: The animated series, gen:Lock makes it move to HBO Max with the added announcement of a second season. The show, voiced by Michael B. Jordan first debuted on Rooster Teeth, a digital brand of WarnerMedia, but all of its content will have a home on the new streaming service come next year. In a dystopian, tech futuristic world, gen: Lock tells the story of an oppressive regime threatening world domination.
The Cowboy Bebop live-action series coming to Netflix starring John Cho and Mustafa Shakir temporarily had to stop production after Cho injured his knee during a scene. The adaptation of the popular anime features Cho as the lead character, Spike Spiegel, an exiled former bounty hunter working on the spaceship Bebop. The injury forced Cho to go back to Los Angeles, consequently putting the show on hiatus which is expected to last between seven to nine months.