Small Screen: Fighting For Artists In South Africa & New Industry Hires

Network: South African Actress, Vatiswa Ndara voiced her concerns on exploitation in the arts industry. Penning an open letter to the arts and culture minister, Nathi Mthethwa, Ndara expressed grievances about the arts industry and how actors are being taken advantage of. The catalyst of the message stemmed from Ndara’s displeasure with Ferguson Films after they offered her, what she considered an insufficient amount of money. In this video, she reiterates that it is not certain when actors in South Africa will find work when they do, that money needs to sustain them until they find work again – sometimes that could be not for several years. Because of Ndara’s activism, more actors are looking to President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign the Performers Protection Bill into law.

E. Brian Dobbs and David Gardner were tapped last week as co-presidents of the management studio, Artists First. Both have been with the company for over a decade representing some of the biggest names in Hollywood like Kenya Barris, Judy Greer, and Tracee Ellis Ross, to name a few. Reports state Peter Principato, will remain as CEO. “We are committed to growing our organization intelligently and providing clients with the best overall experience and opportunities. On behalf of the partners, we are excited to appoint them as Co-Presidents,” said Principato.

All That

Cable: The All That revival produced by Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell as well as others have been given an extension. Nickelodeon ordered 13 episodes more episodes of the series and added a new cast member, Aria Brooks. The show shoots in front of a live audience and has already had musical guests like, the Jonas Brothers, H.E.R, and Elle Mai.

After raking in a record number of 926,000 viewers for its premiere, the CW’s hit drama series, All American, the network ordered three additional episodes to take the second season up to 16 episodes. That is a 29 percent increase from their first season debut with the pilot drawing 685,000 viewers. The series follows the life of a high school football player, stars Taye Diggs, Daniel Ezra, Samantha Logan, Bre-Z, Monet Mazur, amongst others.

Netflix

Streaming: Netflix and Ava DuVernay have been served, with a lawsuit that is. According to reports, John E. Reid and Associates are suing DuVernay and the streaming platform for “mischaracterization” of the Reid Technique in the interrogation scenes in When They See Us. This is the same company that developed the technique in the 50s, and according to them, is a technique that is still widely used by law enforcement. The company alleges that since the show, their reputation has been damaged. Reports state that the method portrayed in the miniseries featured coercion, something that the real technique, “does not involve.”

With the await of HBO Max launch next year, two executives have been named to oversee kids and family programming. Billy Wee, who will serve as senior VP of animation and Nikki Reed was named to VP of kids and scripted family originals. Wee had previously been an executive at TBS, contributing to shows like The Last OG and The Guest Book. Reed also has an accomplished career in the business with over two decades of experience in film and television. She previously served as the VP of original series at Nickelodeon.