Small Screen: Latino-Focused Fuse Media Becomes Latino-Owned, Netflix Boosting African Partnerships & New ‘Batwoman’ Teaser
Broadcast: A new teaser for the upcoming Javicia Leslie-starred second season of Batwoman was recently released, offering a first glimpse into Leslie’s dual role as Ryan Wilder/Batwoman. Leslie’s casting as the new lead of the superhero series was announced in July following the departure of Ruby Rose, who played the titular character during the show’s first season. Season 2 of Batwoman is slated for a January 1 premier date on The CW.
South African broadcasting has recently seen major setbacks that have limited programming options moving into the new year. A recent financial report on the performances of SABC’s channels, especially SABC3, revealed that the South African broadcaster’s financial return continues to decline, posting a net loss of R511 million for the 2019/2020 fiscal year. The losses have been linked to a dual issue of the broadcaster failing to provide new, compelling content while canceling the “legacy shows” that have long attracted viewers in favor of lower quality series produced on smaller budgets, leading South African audiences to favor streaming services such as Netflix SA and Showmax from MultiChoice. Alarmingly following in conjunction with SABC’s financial report for television is SABC’s Radio division, which also posted losses in advertising revenue across commercial stations, all African language stations and its “Fortune 4” block composed of Radio 2000, LotusFM, SAfm and RSG. Following news of SABC’s troubling financial report was the announcement that the long-running soap Rhythm City has been canceled by e.tv. With the planned finale to the popular weekday series set for July 16, 2021, the broadcaster has not divulged on whether the decision was based on finances, instead citing Rhythm City’s lack of a viable “on-air life cycle” moving forward. The Rolie Nikiwe-Neil McCarthy-created series premiered on July 9, 2007, constantly coming in as a Top 10 performer in South African ratings for primetime soap operas.
Following a competitive, multi-network bidding war, ABC will be developing Family Affair, a single-camera musical comedy from executive producers Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Mary J. Blige. Written by executive producers Devon and Ranada Shepherd, the series follows former R&B star and forever bachelor A-ron after he becomes responsible for his sister’s four kids. When he discovers that these kids have serious musical talent, he decides to use his experience and connections from the music industry as he meshes his role in their lives as both their uncle and their manager. In addition to G Unit Film & Television’s Jackson, Blige and the Shepherds, additional executive producers for the upcoming project include Bruce Miller of Blige’s Blue Butterfly Productions as well as David Blackman and Daniel Inkeles from Universal Music/Polygram Entertainment and Noah Rosenberg. Family Affair is an ABC Signature production.
David Makes Man and All Rise showrunner Dee Harris-Lawrence has signed a multiyear overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. In addition to continuing her showrunner duties on the two series, Harris-Lawrence will now also create, develop and produce new series for Warner Bros. across all platforms.
Miguel Rogg - Fuse
Cable: An eight-episode limited series focused on the friendship between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali is currently in development from A+E Studios. Written and produced by showrunner Charles Murray, the upcoming series is based on Johnny Smith and Randy Roberts’ nonfiction book Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, focusing especially on the fast friendship formed by the two influential figures up through their eventual divergence stemming from the fact that the two would arrive at different conclusions about and views on the Nation of Islam. Currently under the working title Blood Brothers, the upcoming series features a team of executive producers that includes Raising Kane Films’ Murray, Narrative Film Group’s Shelby Stone and Derek Dudley and Creative 7’s Carmelo Anthony and Asani Swann. In addition, Smith and Roberts will act as consulting producers on the series. In a joint statement from A+E executives Barry Jossen, the studio’s President and Head, and Tana Jamieson, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs, the two expressed that “A+E Studios is honored to tell this provocative, untold story of the bond between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X,” placing their confidence in Murray and the rest of the executive production team in “[adding] to the legacies of these two icons who left an indelible imprint on America.”
Showtime will be developing New Money, an upcoming series from Jemele Hill, Kelley Carter and Gabrielle Union. After getting their lives, finances and careers in order during their 20s, a group of Black women in their 30s now try to get their love lives in order while also facing “new money” problems such as greedy relatives, inescapable media and friends more interested in what these women have than their actual company. Written by Hill, Carter and Patrik-Ian Polk, the Sony Pictures Television production features an executive production slate composed of Hill, Carter, Union and Polk alongside I’ll Have Another’s Holly Shakoor Fleischer, with oversight by Glenn Adilman and Frank Ochoa for Sony TV and Brendan Countee for Showtime.
Fuse Media, the English-language entertainment platform focused on multicultural, Latino content for millennial and Gen Z viewers, has recently sold a majority stake of the brand to a Latino-led management group headed by Fuse CEO Miguel “Mike” Roggero. Roggero noted the necessity of this acquisition in putting the brand “in complete alignment,” with its mission to provide authentic Latino-focused content to its “underserved, yet rapidly-growing audience.” As part of an ownership group that also includes Latino media executives Judi Lopez and Fernando Romero alongside Marc Leonard, Mark McIntire and Patrick Courtney, Roggero emphasized the need for representative ownership, stating that “ownership…especially in media…must do a better job of realistically reflecting communities of color.” In addition, the new direction of Fuse Media will include prominent Latino business leaders Tony Nieves and Emeli Colleto on its restructured board of directors. Fuse Media was established 16 years ago and has put out Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning content, with media properties that include Fuse and FM (Fuse Music); linear, streaming and OTT channels; Fuse Digital; Fuse-branded apps and live events.
Paul James and Ayden Mayeri have been cast as series regulars in the pilot for Showtime’s upcoming comedy I Love This For You, joining a cast that already includes Vanessa Bayer, Molly Shannon and Cybill Shepherd. Starred by Bayer, the series centers on a childhood leukemia survivor who follows her dream of becoming a home shopping network host. As Jordan Wahl, James plays the humble stage manager at a major home shopping network, while Mayeri’s Beth Ann McGann is a sharp, young host at a major home shopping network. I Love This For You is co-created by executive producers Bayer and Jeremy Beiler, with other executive producers on the pilot including showrunner Jessi Klein, director Michael Showalter, Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle of Annapurna and Semi-Formal’s Jordana Mollick.
Mutlichoice / Amazon
Streaming: HBO Max has ordered a new series based on DC Comics/Veritgo’s dystopian comic series DMZ from Ava DuVernay and Robert Patino. DMZ, which was in publication from 2005 through 2012, is set in the isolated demilitarized zone around Manhattan, referred to simply as “DMZ,” amidst a second Civil War in the United States. DMZ will star Rosario Dawson as Alma Ortega, a medic on a mission to find her lost son who she was separated from during the evacuation of New York City. Ortega must pursue her journey while navigating the added difficulties imposed by Benjamin Bratt’s Parco Delgado, a DMZ-based gang leader hungry for power over Manhattan. A co-production from DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks and Warner Bros. Television, DMZ will also be starred by Hoon Lee, Freddy Miyares and Jordan Preston Carter.
Netflix and the Realness Institute have become partners in a new Episodic Content Development Lab that will create opportunities for South African, Kenyan and Nigerian writers experienced in film and television across all genres and languages. The six participants are expected to develop their projects, which will be commissioned and developed by Netflix, between June and September of next year. Launched in 2015, the Realness Institute is a South Africa-based nonprofit organization that seeks to launch the careers of African creators, presenting them with opportunities to develop their own original content. Its partnership with Netflix marks the organization’s expansion into the production of episodic content, having already organized five Screenwriters’ Residencies to date. Applications for the Episodic Content Development Lab opened on November 30 and will be accepted through January 31.
South African pay-TV operator MultiChoice is expected to announce the upcoming availability of Amazon Prime Video on its devices. MultiChoice announced the upcoming arrivals of Netflix South Africa and Amazon Prime Video this past June, with Netflix officially beginning its rollout on MultiChoice devices in recent weeks. Calvo Mawela, CEO of MultiChoice, recently explained in a call with investors that their business model with new arrivals staggers out new services in order to maximize awareness among current and prospective consumers as well as media coverage, leading to the expectation that Amazon Prime Video will be the next to arrive on MultiChoice. While ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max are both expected to expand their services into overseas markets in 2021, it has yet to be confirmed if these apps are also planned to arrive in South Africa anytime soon.
