Small Screen: Netflix Acquires Second Largest Production Facility, HBO Max Considers Name Change
raymond lee - quantum leap/nbc
Broadcast: NBC’s time-travel reboot Quantum Leap has been renewed for a second season. The first-year drama has yet to complete its first season but was released to positive reception and high ratings. Starring Raymond Lee (Mozart in the Jungle, Here and Now), the series is a reboot of the eponymous 1989 sci-fi drama. Lee portrays Dr. Ben Song, a physicist involved in the Quantum Leap project, sends himself back in time to inhabit the bodies of people in the past. The renewal brings Quantum Leap’s first season total to 18 episodes, which will run on NBC’s primetime slot as well as on Peacock.
Ne-yo and christina milian - step up/starz
Cable: In cable programming, Starz’s Step Up did not fare as well, finding itself canceled after its first season. The season 3 finale will serve as the show’s finale. Step Up aired its first two seasons on YouTube Red before YouTube transitioned Red from scripted originals into Premium, a broader subscription service. Following YouTube’s exit from the scripted series, Starz picked up Step Up for its third and ultimately final season. Starz and parent company Lionsgate have felt the financial squeeze impacting many production and media companies this year, axing another show just weeks ago. Boasting names like Ne-Yo (Sage Odom) and Christina Milian (Colette), the failure of Step Up is indicative of budgetary prudence across the company and the industry this upcoming year.
Streaming: ABC’s Dune prequel Dune: The Sisterhood will cast Josh Heuston as Constantine, the illegitimate son of the final Emperor of the Byzantine empire. The show, set 10,000 years before the events of 2021’s hit epic Dune, is currently in production and has added Heuston and Davis to a lineup including Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Travis Fimmel, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea. 26-year-old Heuston is new to the acting scene, having landed a small role in the Australian comedy-drama Heartbreak High and a non-speaking credit in Thor: Love and Thunder. Dune: The Sisterhood marks his first major role in an American scripted series.
Netflix’s Warrior Nun will not be getting picked up for a third season. Despite a dedicated online fanbase and a three-week seat in Netflix’s Top 10, the action-fantasy will conclude its run after Season 2. Following an announcement of the show’s cancellation by executive producer Simon Barry, the hashtag #SaveWarriorNun trended on Twitter, with fans expressing dismay that the show and its breakout star Alba Baptista, whose role as Ava Silva in Warrior Nun marked her English-language debut, would not return.
In the midst of yet more financial reevaluation, HBO Max will pull its first original scripted program Love Life. The rom-com anthology, whose first episode aired in 2020, featured a different couple each season and followed the pair from the beginning of their romantic history to the end. The series is described as a “journey from first love to last love,” exploring how each relationship in the characters’ life impacts their final coupling.
Custom celebrity messaging site Cameo will launch a Kids category, allowing kids — or, perhaps more accurately, their parents — to pay for custom messages from their favorite characters. Partnering with Moonbug, CameoKids will offer personalized messages from characters that appear on the popular YouTube kids’ channel and fast-growing content empire Cocomelon, as well as long-cherished figures from Thomas the Tank Engine and Santa Claus, among others. With a target audience of children ages one to seven, the service will charge $25 for a video message.
UK broadcast company Da Vinci Media is expanding into the FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) market with kids’ content. Da Vinci’s eponymous FAST channel debuted in early December, carrying existing educational programming like Operation Ouch, The Pet Rescuers, and Science Max. Da Vinci also plans to acquire original programming for their channel with a focus on educational material, and eventually expand their audience to include an older demographic. A deal with YouTube production company HiHo Kids, whose audience encompasses older children and young teens, maybe Da Vinci’s ticket into this market.
Peacock has picked up James Wan’s yet-untitled series inspired by Robert McCammon’s 1988 novel Stinger. Announced under the title “Teacup,” the 30-minute series takes place over 24 hours in the fictional town of Inferno, Texas, plagued by racial tensions, gang violence, and economic troubles. When a UFO crashes just outside of town, an alien being known as Stinger brings with him an extensive array of destructive technology that threatens the existence of Inferno. The untitled series will be written by Yellowstone’s Ian McCulloch and will be produced by Wan’s Atomic Monster Productions. Atomic Monster counts among its credits CBS’ MacGyver, DC’s Swamp Thing, Amazon’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, Netflix’s Archive 81, an adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, the Annabelle franchise, and Mortal Kombat, among others. This upcoming series will be one of Atomic Monster’s few forays out of horror and into sci-fi.
Peabody-winning Sort Of will be picked up for a third season on HBO Max. The Canadian sitcom, written by and starring genderqueer playwright Bilal Baig, has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Baig portrays a genderfluid millennial whose life changes and milestones set the stage for a heartwarming and timely coming-of-age story that spotlights characters whose stories are noticeably absent from the television landscape. In a CBC press release, Baig says, “It feels so right, in a time like this, to be working on a show that looks at how we are constantly changing, and how change can clarify who we are and who we want to be in the world.” The show will continue to air on the Canadian broadcast network CBC in tandem with streaming on HBO Max.
Starz plans to develop a British boxing drama series with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as executive producer. With the working title Fightland, the series was co-written by Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan (Run) and Marlon Smith (Save Me), and follows a washed-up former world champion boxer who re-enters the sport and becomes involved in shady dealings after his childhood friend and training partner goes missing. Fightland comes on the heels of Jackson’s exit from a partnership with Starz, which brought to the screen acclaimed series BMF, Power, and the Power spinoffs. The deal ended after Starz repeatedly threatened to cut Power, leading to public social media scuffles between Jackson and the network. When his deal expired, however, there seemed to be no animosity: “We had nothing but success so no hard feelings,” Jackson wrote on Instagram, “ I’ll let you know where we are going shortly.” Fightland has not yet announced an official title or release date.
Hulu announced the end of its drama Wu-Tang: An American Saga, which will complete its third and final season with a finale on April 5. Throughout its run, the show has offered a dramatized account of the Wu-Tang Clan’s rise to fame. The final season covers the aftermath of the Clan’s debut album and accompanying growing pains, with each member struggling to find their own way in the industry. The show won two Golden Reel awards for sound production and scoring, as well as a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2020. The show stars Ashton Sanders as the RZA (née: Bobby Diggs), Shameik Moore as Raekwon, and Siddiq Saunderson as Ghostface Killah. Along with Alex Tse and Brian Grazer, real-life members of Wu-Tang the RZA and Method Man executive produced the series.
Mindy Kaling’s adult animated Scooby-Doo spinoff Velma, following the origin story of Velma from the beloved Scooby-Doo series, is set for a January 12 release on HBO Max. Though Scooby-Doo himself will not appear in the series, Daphne (Constance Wu), Shaggy (Sam Richardson), and Fred (Glenn Howerton) will be featured in the modernized spinoff. At New York Comic Con, Kaling and her co-creators said they “want to honor other interpretations and what we think feels really modern,” which include making Velma a South Asian character like her voice actor Kaling. The series’ first season will follow Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Fred as they solve the murder of a corpse that turned up at their high school.
From Left to Right: Sonya Eddy, Maureen Guthman, and Clarence Gilyard
Industry: CBS’s current Senior Vice President Eric Kim will be promoted to Head of Current Programs, after Amy Reisenbach held the position for over 10 years. Kim, who has been with CBS since 2011, will oversee primetime and daytime programming for the network and its studios. Kim serves on the board of Colour Entertainment, a nonprofit “dedicated to maximizing the potential of executives of color who work in entertainment,” as well as nonprofit Korean American Leaders in Hollywood. He was also a board member of the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment.
Nicola Dinan’s LGBT romance novel Bellies is slated to be adapted for TV by Element Pictures anticipating its U.S. and U.K. publication next summer. The story begins as a typical romance, with art students Tom and Ming meeting each other at a drag night in their university town. When Ming comes out to Tom as trans, it forces Tom, who is gay, to reevaluate his relationship with her. Bellies focuses on Ming’s transition, while including the story of how Tom confronts his identity as a gay man and its intersection with his love for Ming as she transitions. The novel will be published in the U.K. in July and in the U.S. in August, and the eight-part series has yet to announce a release date. Element’s past forays into scripted television include other novel adaptations Normal People, Conversations with Friends and The Dry. Among Element’s film credits are Academy Award and BAFTA nominated movies The Favourite, Room, and The Lobster.
HBO Max may be getting a facelift – or, at least, a simplification. It is reported that the service is considering changing its name to simply “Max” as it merges with Discovery+. Little beyond the fact of the merger has been announced; the name change is still in limbo, and though it is assumed a price hike will accompany the services’ expanded library, a pricing model has yet to be released. The name change comes as little surprise. Since its beginning, there has been conjecture about the removal of “HBO” from HBO Max in order to protect the brand.
BET’s SVP of Content Strategy Maureen Guthman passed away of uterine sarcoma on November 30, 2021. She was 60 years old. Guthman, a graduate of Hunter College and previous Viacom executive, had served as BET’s SVP since 2015. Guthman was warmly regarded and will be remembered fondly by her family, friends, and coworkers as a powerhouse who brokered over 250 deals with the express mission to “give women and Black Americans an opportunity to see themselves in ways that television has long ignored.”
Actor, author, professor, and producer Clarence Gilyard has passed away at the age of 66, according to the UNLV College of Fine Arts. A career man of more than 30 years who most recently took up teaching acting at UNLV, he was known for his roles as Conrad McMasters in the 1989-1993 legal drama series Matlock; Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Left Behind films; James “Jimmy” Trivette in 1990s crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger; Theo in Die Hard; and Lieutenant Evan “Sundown” Gough in Top Gun.
Screenwriter, director, producer, and comic-book writer Reginald Hudlin has announced plans to, in concordance with AWA studios, develop several original stories for film, television, and comics in pursuit of increased diversity. With several upcoming franchises already on the docket, Hudlin and AWA will cooperate on projects from inception to film/TV adaptation. Hudlin has previously written for Marvel’s Black Panther franchise, contributing to the meteoric rise of its film adaptation. AWA’s new creative council, a team including J. Michael Straczynski, Al Madrigal, Laeta Kalogridis, and Joseph Kosinski, has stated an explicit goal of promoting racial, ethnic, and experiential diversity in storytelling, explaining in a statement, “At AWA, we seek partners who will help us challenge the industry norm and work with us to develop projects that showcase the unique way we empower creators with ownership and control over their stories.” The studio hopes a partnership with Hudlin will usher in more diversity in stories and characters across media.
The Chi’s Carolyn Michelle Smith has signed with Anonymous Content. Smith’s notable credits include Deja in Showtime’s The Chi and Grandmother Agnes in Season 2 of Russian Doll. Smith is both a performer and a producer, as well as co-director of the acting arm of a mentorship lab program at Hillman Grad, a production company owned by The Chi creator Lena Waithe. The program that Smith co-directs seeks to connect creatives from marginalized communities to training and support resources for the film and TV industries. Smith also owns and heads Aspire Higher Coaching Services, Inc., a private acting coaching service in New York City and Los Angeles.
Warner Bros. Discovery has announced their centennial campaign, entitled “Celebrating Every Story.” Warner Bros., founded by Albert, Sam, Harry and Jack Warner in 1923, is a ubiquitous giant across the entertainment industry, with sway in film, TV, gaming, and a multitude of IPs identifiable in nearly every aspect of American entertainment culture. Special programming around the “Celebrate Every Story” event will include an HBO Max documentary on the history of Warner Bros., marathons and special episodes to be distributed across Warner Bros. domestic and international networks, a year-round emphasis of Warner Bros. content on the Turner Classic Movies channel, and series of film and TV bundles for sale on streaming and home media. “Celebrate Every Story” will also feature live events, including a Candlelight Concert Series, features at the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles, and exclusive theatrical screenings of Warner Bros. films. The campaign is set to continue throughout 2023.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced the formal approval of Netflix’s acquisition of the former Fort Monmouth Army base in New Jersey. Netflix plans to convert the decommissioned base into a state-of-the-art production facility with them paying $850 million for the production studio, and investing $55 million which is owed to the purchase of the land. CEO Ted Sarandos promised an influx of jobs to the Fort Monmouth area, with Governor Murphy accordingly anticipating “an entirely new ecosystem” of industry employment, permanent and temporary housing, hotels and subsidiary businesses and services. The site of Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth will be just shy of 300 acres in land area, only 2 acres smaller than Netflix’s largest production hub in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Netflix estimates their new development and surrounding ecosystem will create upwards of 1,400 to 2,200 jobs once in operation. Output from Netflix Fort Monmouth is projected at $7.4 billion to $8.9 billion over the next two decades. The value added to New Jersey’s state economy as a direct result of the new project over the same period is between $3.8 billion to $4.6 billion.
Sonya Eddy, most known for her longstanding role as head nurse Epiphany Johnson on General Hospital and for many other small roles, has passed away at age 55. Eddy’s death was announced on Instagram by her friend and fellow actor Octavia Spencer, who remembers Eddy as a “creative angel” with “legions” of fans. Eddy has been a recurring character on General Hospital for nearly 20 years, appearing in 543 episodes, most recently in November of 2020. Eddy was also a recurring actor on General Hospital: Night Shift, a spinoff, from 2007 to 2008. Fans, friends, and coworkers alike have taken to social media to describe Eddy as a woman with a big heart and an even bigger smile whose wisdom and creativity brought light to the productions on which she worked. A cause of death has not been released.