Small Screen: ‘Days Of Our Lives’ Rumored 57th and 58th Season Renewal; Allen Media Group Acquires Stations From Quincy Media Inc.
James Reynolds and Jackee Harry - Days od our lives/NBC
Broadcast: NBC’s lone daytime drama series Days of Our Lives is rumored to have been renewed for a 57th and 58th season. The legendary series which first aired in November of 1965 had, prior to this, been receiving year-to-year renewals. Executive Producer Ken Corday has always tried to limit the amount of spending, keeping the budget fairly low and sustainable to ensure renewals. Although the on-air broadcast viewership has been on a steady decline, online streaming is at an all-time high. A series highlight is that among its large cast the contract cast members of color are Lamon Archey (Eli Grant), Camila Banus (Gabi Hernandez), Jackee Harry (Paulina Price), Sal Stowers (Lani Price), James Reynolds (Abe Carver), and Precious Way (Chanel Dupree). Plus, the recurring cast members of color are Remington Hoffman (Li Shin), Tina Huang (Melinda Trask), Cameron Johnson (Theo Carver), and Vanessa A. Williams (Valerie Grant).
Junho and Lee Se Young - JTBC PLUS/The Chosunilbo JNS
Cable: M-Net (DStv 101) recently released its first character teaser for its upcoming locally-filmed crime show Reyka. The 8-episode Reyka, produced by Quizzical Pictures and Serena Cullen Productions as a co-production between M-Net and Fremantle and that is set in the KwaZulu-Natal Sugarfields, stars Kim Engelbrecht in the titular role as the brilliant-but-flawed criminal profiler Reyka. The drama series will follow Reyka as she investigates a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer, but viewers will first meet Reyka on voting day in South Africa in 1994 - the day of her abduction. The rest of the cast is made up of Iain Glen as farmer Speelman and Thando Thabethe as a stickler to the rules detective Nandi Cele.
The upcoming MBC historical “sageuk” drama entitled The Red Sleeve Cuff has just confirmed 2PM’s Lee Junho and Lee Se Young as official leads of the project. The new drama will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays and its plot will focus on a romance in the imperial court between a court lady and emperor. It is based on a novel of the same name. Jung Ji IN known for Radiant Office and Hold Me Tight, is attached to the direct with Jung Hae Ri, of Ruler: Master of the Mask, penning the script. Junho will be playing Yi San, who is born as the direct descendant and the eldest grandson of the King, as he is meticulous and strong-willed. Lee Se Young will be portraying Seon Deok Im, who wants to make decisions about her life rather than finding herself to be one of the King’s women.
Kumail Nanjiani - IFC
Streaming: Shondaland and Netflix have teamed up for a spinoff of the Bridgerton series with Jess Brownell attached as the showrunner for the 3rd and 4th seasons. Bridgerton season two is currently in a production helmed by Chris Van Dusen. This untitled spinoff will be based on a young Queen Charlotte, centering on her rise to power and love life. As well as telling the stories of young Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury, "Many viewers had never known the story of Queen Charlotte before Bridgerton brought her to the world, and I'm thrilled this new series will further expand her story and the world of Bridgerton" said Netflix VP of Global TV Bela Bajaria. Shonda Rhimes will write the series and serve as executive producer alongside Betsy Beers and Tom Verica.
Founder of the Chippendales male striptease show is getting his own television series on Hulu entitled Immigrant. Kumail Nanjiani will star as Somen “Steve” Banerjee, who started the revue as a way to attract attention to a struggling bar in Los Angeles. The plot of the show will focus on the darkly comedic and chaotic crime-ridden true story behind the cultural phenomena. Penning the series is Robert Siegel, The Wrestler, and Hulu’s upcoming show Pam and Tommy, Rajiv Joseph, and Mehar Sethi. They executive produce with Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon and Limelight’s Dylan Sellers, and Chris Parker. 20th Television produces.
Bryon Allen - MARK RALSTON
Industry: Allen Media Group, the owner of stations like ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, has just acquired seven new media stations owned by Quincy Media Inc. Byron Allen, head of AMG and known across Los Angeles as a mogul of media purchased these assets for $380 million dollars cash. Gray Television Inc. must dispose of a collection of Quincy Media Inc. stations in order to win federal approval for its $925-million takeover of a separate company known as Quincy Media. Hilton H Howell, the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of Gray TV, released a statement saying: “We are thrilled to facilitate the transfer of these fine Quincy television stations to Byron Allen and Allen Media Group, who we are confident will continue the strong commitments to journalism and localism that have distinguished these stations under Quincy’s outstanding stewardship.” The station's transactions should be processed in the third quarter of this year.
McDonald's is also being sued by media mogul Byron Allen for $10 billion dollars in damages. The largest restaurant company in the world is being accused of racial discrimination in connection to its way of advertising. Allen insists the restaurant allegedly has refused to advertise on the Entertainment Studio Network or the Weather Channel since he became owner back in 2018. The lawsuit points out how 40% of McDonald's sales in the United States are from Black people. It goes one step further reprimanding the measly $5 million dollars allocated to Black-owned media while its overall annual television advertising budget is a whopping $1.6 billion. Allen is not new to this type of lawsuit, having previously sued Comcast and GM to advertise with his company. McDonald’s will now spend 10% of its annual television advertising budget on businesses owned by Black, Hispanic, Asian Pacific American, women, and LGBTQ platforms between 2021 and 2024.
