Small Screen: Netflix’s Debut's 'One Piece' Trailer, Warner Bros. to Shop HBO Originals to Netflix
Jay Hernandez - Magum P.I./NBC
Broadcast: Previously announced Good Girls reunion with Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs, and Retta will not be going forward at NBC. The network passed up the pilot, fka Murder by the Book, but Universal Television is expected to shop it. The drama follows an internet-famous book reviewer (Retta) who uncovers the truth about a small seaside town. Star Retta also executive produced. The project was one of two NBC drama pilots ordered this season, with the other, fka Wolf, remaining in limbo. Earlier this month, NBC picked up Justin Spitzer’s St. Denis Medical and passed on Amber Ruffin’s Non-Evil Twin.
Magnum P.I. will run its fifth and final season on NBC. The series was canceled by CBS last year before being picked up by NBC, where it will end after the second part of Season 5. Magnum’s cast’s deals at NBC have ended, which, coupled with the ongoing WGA strike and possible SAG-AFTRA strike, have spelled the end of the show. To avoid cancellation, the network would need to order more episodes or prolong the actors’ deals without a clear start date for production. The series was a reboot of an eponymous 1980s show starring Tom Selleck. In the reboot, Jay Hernandez starred as Thomas Magnum, a former Navy Seal who returns from Afghanistan and uses his military experience to work as a private investigator on the Robin’s Nest estate. Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang also starred.
Cable: Showtime has announced the return of The Chi. The sixth season of the drama series is set to premiere August 4th streaming on Paramount+ and on demand, after which it will air on Showtime August 6. The season will run for 16 episodes, split into two installments each. The second half of the season will premiere later, at a date yet to be announced. The Chi, created and executive produced by Lena Waithe and Hillman Grad along with Common, is a coming-of-age story set on the South Side of Chicago. A group of residents in the area bond over an unlikely coincidence that joins them in the need for redemption and community. Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, said of the series,
“The Chi is Showtime at its best – complex characters and sophisticated storytelling that leave our viewers wanting more, which is why we’ve expanded this season to its biggest yet. Lena is a gifted creator and we’re fortunate to collaborate with her on this iconic series – one of our biggest – as we continue to lean into diverse cultures, one of our key programming lanes, that you’ll see us build out as we gear up to launch Paramount+ with Showtime.”
The logline for Season 6 reads,
“Big dreams are finally realized but at a cost and everyone will be tested in unimaginable ways as they calculate the risks and rewards of their next big move. Emmett (Jacob Latimore) and Kiesha’s (Birgundi Baker) blissful blended union is tested by his insatiable drive to expand Smokey’s and a new perilous partnership, while Kiesha finally races toward a rewarding new career. Douda (Curtiss Cook) deals with the fallout of Q’s murder and its effect on the shifting loyalty of his inner circle. Victor’s (Luke James) bold declaration of love for both his new girlfriend and his beloved community will impact his political ambitions. Happily married Jada (Yolonda Ross) mentors Emmett and her besties as they navigate relationships. Kevin (Alex Hibbert) is becoming a brilliant master gamer but struggles with the youthful pitfalls of early independence. Jake (Michael V. Epps) launches a new business, and Papa (Shamon Brown Jr.) falls for an older woman while questioning his faith.”
The season will feature Jacob Latimore, Alex Hibbert, Yolonda Ross, Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps, Birgundi Baker, Luke James and Curtiss Cook and guest star Kandi Burruss, Vic Mensa, Carolyn Michelle Smith, Jason Weaver, Iman Shumpert, Nia Jervier, L’lerrét Jazelle, Hannaha Hall, Ahmad Ferguson, Genesis Denise Hale, Joel Steingold, Judae’a Brown, Miriam A. Hyman, Tyla Abercrumbie, Tai Davis, Rolando Boyce and Tory O. Davis, among others.
Streaming: HBO’s possible licensing deal with Netflix has been met with industry criticism and surprise. Some see the unprecedented move as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zazlav “selling off the crown jewels to hit his savings targets,” but industry experts argue that the deal could lead to increased streaming profitability and a rise in residuals for creators. The deal, which has yet to be signed, would see Insecure, Ballers, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Six Feet Under being carried on Netflix, among possible others. Deals such as this one were once common, with Netflix representing a benefit for studios’ distribution departments. HBO had a deal with Amazon, signed in 2014, which saw some of its original content streaming on Prime; HBO’s cable rival Showtime also had a Netflix deal to run some titles on the streamer following their linear run. But as streaming services proliferated in the years following such deals, many companies strayed from this strategy in order to protect their content. But as Zaslav scrambles to save up to $5 billion after the Discovery and WBD merger, money from older series with lower viewership on Max has gained more appeal. Some at HBO, however, are not happy with the deal. A source said that WBD “would sell the furniture if they could,” and many see the move as an abandonment of the “HBO brand.” For their part, Zaslav’s team stopped short of shopping the rights to “gold-standard” series like Succession and Game of Thrones. Other studios, namely Disney, are also exploring such an option: in April, Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned the company considering licensing some of its content to former rival services.
“In order to achieve the goal of getting into the streaming business very successfully, we felt we had to take control back of the content that we had licensed to third parties. At that point, most of it was going to Netflix and we actually enjoyed a good relationship with them over the time when we licensed content to them. But we licensed very valuable content, content that we felt we absolutely needed.”
But Iger, too, says he will shy away from licensing core Disney content like Marvel, Pixar, or Star Wars to third parties. Former co-head of movies at Amazon Studios Ted Hope has said of the change in tides,
“[The streamers] adopted the wrong group think. All the streamers killed, or generally injured, theatrical runs, non-exclusive media sequencing, & territorial licensing. Will all the streamers now return to The Old Wisdom?”
Former Fox Soul GM James DuBose will launch his own AVOD platform. In The Black Network will be a streaming service highlighting Black voices and stories, and will launch October 2. It will feature content from Fox Television’s catalog, many of which DuBose had a hand in developing during his time at Fox Soul. The network will also stream free content on an app, which will be available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, YouTube, and Samsung platforms. More platforms will follow. DuBose says he was inspired to create a Black-owned and -centered streamer as he moved through his career in entertainment.
“I love everything about our culture: our faith, our resilience, our rhythm, our minds, our love. These pillars are the focus of our curated content which honors and elevates black culture and cultivates pride within our community. Throughout my career, I’ve always aimed to uplift Black voices, so bringing this new network to fruition is extremely personal and important to me. We want viewers to feel connected to authentic stories that speak to our culture, and gain a shared sense of self from enjoying our entertainingly inspiring content.”
DuBose has so far partnered with pocket.watch, Black Waterhorse, and Maverick Entertainment. Content available at launch from pocket.watch includes Ryan’s World specials, Onyx Family Ultimate Mishmash, Onyx Monster Mysteries, Onyx Family Dinner, and Kamdenboy & Kyraboo Ultimate Mishmash. From Fox Soul’s licensed library, In The Black Network will carry Brutally Honest with Jasmine Brand, Worth a Conversation with Jeezy, The Score, Kitchen Talk with Maino, and Crockett’s Corner with Ray Crockett.
Paramount+ has canceled The Game, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Queen of the Universe. Following their cancellation, all four shows will also be removed from the streamer. A Paramount+ spokesperson said,
“[These series] have completed their runs on Paramount+ and will not be returning to the service. We want to extend our thanks to our tremendously talented cast and crew and our producing partners for their passionate work and dedication on these programs, and we wish them all the best on their future endeavors.”
The news came as Paramount+ and Showtime are set to launch their joint streaming service on June 27, making shows like Dexter, Yellowjackets, and Billions available to all subscribers. The decision to cancel and remove the four series was reportedly driven by viewership numbers, though Paramount did not reveal an official reason. Prodigy, The Game, and Grease will all be shopped to other outlets. Queen of the Universe, a drag competition series from the company that produces RuPaul’s Drag Race and its spinoffs, will be removed from Paramount+ on June 30.
In a shocking development, Warner Bros. Discovery is shopping some of its HBO titles to HBO’s streaming rival Netflix. This would be the first time in almost ten years that an HBO title would be carried by a rival SVOD service in the United States. Among the titles being shipped by WBD is Issa Rae’s Insecure, which had a five-season run on HBO that ended in December of 2021. The move is suspected to be financially driven, with corporate financial consideration trumping the concerns of HBO veterans. Though the deal is not yet concrete, it represents a strategy shift in the premium pay space. The shows will likely be distributed on a non-exclusive basis, meaning they will still be available on Max. WBD CEO David Zaslav indicated early on that he was open to abandoning exclusivity in favor of licensing content to bolster the company’s profit. Earlier in 2023, WBD sought to distribute titles like Westworld to free streamers like Roku and Tubi. For its part, Insecure ran on Discovery’s cable network OWN earlier this year, an unprecedented basic cable run for an HBO series. In 2014, HBO made a deal with Amazon Prime Video to license series like The Sopranos, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, and The Wire, but the deal fell apart before Prime became a real player in the premium originals landscape. The purported move to shop HBO titles to Netflix would be a first in the streaming era, especially in light of rampant vertical integration of major Hollywood studios. Zaslav has recently begun to search for ways to monetize HBO’s exclusive library as part of broad cost-cutting measures. Netflix is widely considered to be HBO’s biggest streaming rival, so WBD’s finding a home for HBO exclusives on the streamer comes as a major shock. However, there remains the possibility that placing HBO titles on Netflix could lead to broader reach and more exposure to a wider audience.
Jing Lusi of Crazy Rich Asians will lead an ITV drama about an all-night flight from London to Beijing along with Richard Armitage. The drama, titled Red Eye, is the first television project from Flightplan writer Peter A. Dowling, and will air on ITVX in 2024. The show follows Dr. Matthew Nolan (Armitage), who survives a brush with death at a medical conference in Beijing and is then arrested at Heathrow Airport upon his return. He is accused of killing a woman in the Beijing car crash, and DC Hana Li (Lusi), a London officer, is tasked with taking Nolan back to Beijing. Lusi said of the series,
“Red Eye marks a turning point in British Asian representation and I am beyond thrilled and proud to be leading this series alongside the wonderful Richard Armitage.”
ITV drama head Polly Hill commented,
“Red Eye is a brilliantly addictive thriller with an international story taking place on the red eye flight from Heathrow to Beijing.”
YouTuber Liza Koshy will host a home renovation series on Roku. Empty Nest Refresh, from Velvet Hammer Media, will follow young adults moving out of their parents’ homes and turning their childhood bedrooms into their parents’ dream rooms. Koshy, star of YouTube original series Liza on Demand, will host the series along with interior designer Orlando Soria. The series will run six episodes and be executive produced by Dean Collins, Jennifer O’Connell, Quinn, and Koshy. Brian Tannenbaum, Head of Originals, Roku Media, says of the series,
“Our streamers are huge fans of home renovation series, and we’re thrilled to work with the production team, Liza, and Orlando to bring a fresh, multi-generational take on this beloved genre. On a personal note, it’s incredibly rewarding to partner with Velvet Hammer Media on one of their first series — having worked so closely with Jennifer and Rebecca at the onset of my career.”
Koshy said,
“Moving out of your family home is a big step in your ‘adulting’ journey. It’s equally emotional and exciting for both parents and kids, as both prepare to enter the next chapter of their lives.”
Streamer ViX has begun production on six new original series and one new original film. These include Sofia Vergara-led Koati: Animated Series and producer Benicio del Toro’s Matar el Jockey. Rodrigo Mazón, Chief Content Officer ViX for TelevisaUnivision, said of the new projects,
“With these 7 new productions we continue to increase our original content offerings on ViX, with stories that appeal to the diverse tastes of our audiences. Since the launch [of ViX], we have been working on a path of constant development and production that we know today strongly reflects and resonates with the audience’s preferences and generates great successes in our service.”
Matar el Jockey tells the story of Remo Manfredini, a turf racing legend haunted by his self-sabotaging tendencies. New jockey Abril becomes pregnant with Remo’s child, forcing the couple to decide between their careers or a family. Both racers work for Sirena, a businesswoman with an obsession for Remo who once saved his life. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Úrsula Corberó and Daniel Giménez Cacho; with Daniel Fanego, Osmar Nuñez, Luis Ziembrowski, Roberto Carnaghi, Adriana Aguirre and Roly Serrano star. Koati: Animated Series is a children’s series that “celebrates diversity, the beauty of our natural environment and culture” through Latino stories. It was created by and for Latinos in the United States and Latin America, and is executive produced by Sofia Vergara. Comedy thriller La Banda follows Don Victor, the owner of Sanitarios Reyes who plans to leave the company and make his colleague Rafael its boss. Rafael spills the secret to his coworkers and his wife, who has a checkered past. Soon, Don Victor dies suddenly and his only son claims his inheritance and becomes determined to sell the factory to a large corporation. Rafael and Mercela create an “unusual gang” to recover the company and save their town. Miguel Rodarte, Paulina Gaitán, Fernando Bonilla, Tessa Ía and Aldo Escalante star, with Jesús Ochoa, Aída López, Juan Carlos Colombo, Juan Daniel Treviño and Raúl Briones appearing. Dramedy Consuelo takes place in Mexico City in the 1950s, following a high-society woman who is abandoned by her husband and must find a way to support herself through her passions, which include selling sex toys. Cassandra Sánchez Navarro, Erick Chapa, Eileen Yáñez, Lincoln Palomeque and Catherine Siachoque star. El Guardaespaldas is a comedy telling the story of an unemployed criminal named Julian who stumbles into the hands of politically ambitious police. Julian must launder money at his mother’s beauty store to save his family, posing as a P.E. teacher at his boss’s daughter’s school to find evidence against him. The series will star Memo Villegas and Diana Carreiro, Natalia Téllez, Marimar Vega, Norma Angélica and Sebastián Zurita. Qué Chica Es El Mundo is a cooking show featuring Chef Lorena García, who guides viewers through the cuisines of Mexico and Peru with local recipes and conversations with traditional and modern chefs. Sabor de America stars Chef Jesus of Univision’s Despierta America as he travels across the US exploring Latin cuisine and the cultures and communities that share them.
Long-running Australian soap Neighbours will add a new family to its cast in its return. The Varga-Murphys, with moms Remi Remi (Naomi Rukavina) and Cara (Sara West) and teenage sons, JJ (Riley Bryant) and Dex (Marley Williams), are a mixed-race family helmed by two moms, marking a change for the soap. Actor Sara West said of the new family,
“Cara has a bold, impassioned love for her family and I love that her intentions have, so far, always been good. I hope having the Varga-Murphys on telly will help better reflect the beautiful LGBTQIA+ community that I’m proud to be a part of and I can’t wait to share the family with you.”
Actor Rukavina pointed out the importance of such representation on a long-established and revered show, saying,
“As a stalwart of Australian drama television, the show is on the front foot of showcasing diverse and real representations of Australian families, not in a tokenistic way.”
Neighbors will premiere on Amazon Freevee in the US and UK and on Prime Video in Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand; Network 10 will retain first-run rights in Australia for the series’ new chapter.
Production has begun on Disney+’s limited series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. The UK original series is set after the 2005 London bombings, and follows the manhunt for a group of terrorists and the killing of Brazilian civilian Jean Charles de Menezes, who is mistaken for a suspect. De Menezes’ parents and relatives consult on the series. Suspect is wrotten and produced by Jeff Pope (Philomena) and produced by his production label Etta Pictures. BAFTA winnesr Paul Andrew Williams and Kwadjo Dajan will also produce.
Netflix has released the trailer for its live-action adaptation of One Piece, a bestselling manga series. The trailer was launched at Tudum, Netflix’s fan event in São Paolo, Brazil, on June 17th. Like the massively popular manga by Eiichiro Oda, the series will follow Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) as he puts together a crew and a ship to embark upon a treasure hunt to become King of the Pirates. One Piece will join an anime series, multiple video games, and a handful of feature films in the ranks of spinoffs of the original 1997 manga, which sold over 460 million copies. In addition to Godoy, the series will star Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. One Piece will release on Netflix on August 31.
Disney+ has announced a halt on original commissions in Canada until at least the end of 2023. The company is not actively commissioning in Canada across any of its brands, a mandate that could extend into the next calendar year. Disney+ has only been available in Canada since 2019, and even after its launch, it took several years to begin releasing originals in the country. In the summer of 2022, Disney hired Stephanie Azam of Telefilm as its executive director of content for Canada, after which an originals strategy began to take shape. At a Content Canada industry conference, VP and GM for Disney+ in Canada Jason Badal discussed a focus on adult-oriented programming for Star, an international version of Hulu/FX/Fox, as well as a focus on returning series over features. Azam added,
“We want to be able to communicate in a simple and efficient way,.Very soon we’ll be able to communicate very specifically … the kind of content we want pitched.”
Despite this discussion, Disney has yet to make any original commissions in Canada, and failed to show at the Banff World Media Festival in Alberta. With Paramount Global announcing its first Canadian slate and CBS chief George Cheeks delivering a keynote at the Festival, Disney’s absence was conspicuous. Some speculate that the absence was owed to Bill C-11, Canada’s Online Streaming Act, which passed in April. The Act requires online streamers to invest in CanCon, Canadian content, like traditional broadcasters are required to do. Only then could the streamers qualify for financial incentives and tax breaks. It could also have to do with Disney’s latest internal upsets, including 7,000 layoffs and sweeping cost-cutting measures including pulling dozens of titles off streaming.
BBC Studios has bought STV, the Copenhagen-based producer of a Scandinavian remake of The Office. The company will be rebranded under a BBC Studios name. Until this acquisition, BBC Studios has tended towards formats licensing and co-production operations in Scandinavia through an agreement with Banijay. The deal with STV, which is based in Denmark with offices in Norway and Sweden, will build out the BBC’s presence in Scandinavia. STV has put its name on shows like Big Love and Get Lost Honey, as well as being the local producer for Long Lost Family, Wheel of Fortune, and Bargain King. The deal comes on the heels of BBC Studios and Banijay mutually terminating their first-look formats agreements in March, though the pair will continue to make Dancing With The Stars in the Nordics, The Great Bake Off in Sweden, and The Dementia Choir in Denmark and Norway. STV’s existing bases will rebrand as BBC Studios Nordic Productions, with the regional MD Daniel Svarts reporting to Jan Salling, Head of BBC Studios Nordic. They will produce local adaptations of scripted and unscripted formats in the BBC Studios catalog as well as develop original IP. Matt Forde, Managing Director of International Production and Formats at BBC Studios, says,
“There is a huge affinity and affection in the region for the BBC brand and a growing demand for our content locall. Establishing a wide ranging production presence in the region has been a long-held ambition and a natural evolution for the business after several years of successful format licensing and co-production. Becoming a fully-independent local producer will allow us to have wider creative conversations and to act on the opportunity to develop and export original creative IP from Scandinavia to the wider international market. This acquisition cements us as an international producer of scale.”
BBC Studios will now have production bases in 10 countries.
Industry: In light of potential new UK laws requiring Disney+ to send contract renewal notices to its users, Disney has railed against what it sees as a system that allows customers to “game” its streamer without paying. Disney calls the UK government’s draft of the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill an attempt to “micro-manage” its interactions with customers. As it stands, the bill requires streamers to send users “reminder notices” every six months to remind them of their subscription. Disney claims that its current notice of recurring dees is already “timely and clear,” and that users are easily able to cancel their contract. Increased email notices, it argues, would make users more likely to ignore any notices from the streamer, thus having a counterproductive effect. In a submission to the Lords Communications and Digital Committee, Disney said,
“The combination of the market imperatives, consumer preferences, our practice of providing timely and clear notice of the recurring fee and the ease of terminating the agreement should obviate the need for mandated renewal notices. At a minimum, it obviates the need for the micro-managing of how and when these notices should be sent, which is a serious flaw in the draft bill that fails to recognise that it could lead to consumer’s ignoring notices.”
The company requests that the UK government limit reminder notices to specific sectors with reputations for entrapment, which “obviously does not apply to SVODs.” Disney raised further concerns about the bill’s introduction of a two-week cooling-off period for subscriptions, which would enable users to withdraw their subscription within 14 days without making a first payment. This would allow users to “game the system,” Disney says, by subscribing in order to consume specific content and then canceling. Eventually, this could necessitate price increases for customers, said Disney:
“This would allow these bad actors to benefit from our service without compensation to the detriment of the vast majority of good actors as it could likely result in a price increase given the reduction in the subscriber base and the high cost of producing high-quality content.”
COBA, a trade body with membership including Sky, Fox, and NBCU, echoed Disney’s concerns and called the bill “overly prescriptive.” For its part, the UK government’s Department for Business & Trade said,
“Our new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will boost competition in online markets that are currently dominated by a small number of firms – delivering on our commitment to grow the economy by increasing consumer choice and accelerating innovation.”
After changing the way it reports its internal top 10 rankings, Netflix is pioneering its own measures of the number of accounts consuming its content. The company calls it a new version of a view, the total time spent watching a movie or season of a series divided by the content’s run time, and many consider it a more easily digestible metric than the streamer’s previous statistics. But industry players warn that views cannot be equated with viewers, and that the watch time/run time metric does not necessarily provide more transparency regarding how many people are watching a given piece of content. Of course, data such as completion rates and subscriber retention, a crucial part of streamers’ decisions regarding renewals or cancellations, are still very rarely released to the public. As the WGA strike wears on, unions have put forth data transparency as a fundamental part of their demands in contract negotiations. The WGA proposed a viewership-based residual (rewarding shows with larger audiences), which would require transparency from streamers regarding such metrics. Representing the media companies, the AMPTP rejected the proposal outright with no counter-offer. Though Netflix’s steps away from complete opacity are more significant than those of its competitors, its new measures seem to be more of a restatement of previously released data than a new level of complete transparency. Netflix claims the measures “[prove] to be a more reliable metric for many people,” with the company now ranking its top 10s by views instead of total hours. This metric is “anchored in engagement,” it claims, and is Netflix’s “best measure of member satisfaction and a key driver of retention.” The company also changed the measurement period from four to 13 weeks. With the changes, Wednesday now ranks as the top English language series on the platform, replacing Stranger Things — but this change is almost entirely owing to Wednesday’s shorter running time: While Stranger Things 4 has 120 million more hours of total viewership, it is also more than six hours longer than Wednesday and thus has a lower view count under the new metric. Many say that the new system is the easiest to understand out of all of Netflix’s metric shifts from 2019 to 2023. The total viewing time metric used by the streamer since 2021 mirrors Nielsen’s weekly streaming reports, and its view-calculation equation is not new. The Hollywood Reporter has previously used the metric to contextualize viewing time data in its reports. The system is best for feature films, for which dividing viewing time by running time for one week gives the equivalent of the number of showings of the film. For example, Netflix reports users worldwide spent 88.4 million hours watching Extraction 2 in its first week, which, with the film’s run time of 124 minutes, gives 42.8 million full showings of the movie. But this does not mean that 42.8 million Netflix users watched the film in full during its first week — some may have watched it through multiple times, and others may have stopped halfway through. The metric only shows the number of complete runs theoretically contained in the total viewing hours. The math gets even more complicated with series, and still more convoluted with all-time top 10s. Squid Game, for example, has more views than Netflix has subscribers, as does Wednesday. At first glance, one could assume this means that every single Netflix account has watched those series in their entirety, which is inaccurate. So, though the view numbers point to a high level of engagement, it is almost certain that the numbers include re-watches. By revealing only its top 10, the snapshot offered by Netflix offers only a sample of its most popular titles. The data remains unclear to the press, shareholders, and viewers.
Run The Burbs producer Pier 21 Films will partner with stand-up comic Julie Kim on a yet-to-be-named half-hour comedy series. The deal will be Kim’s first time heading up a sitcom, which she will co-write along with Clara Altimas of Strays. Kim has just completed a gala performance at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, recently made her debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and has just completed a 40-theater North American tour with Ronny Chieng of Crazy Rich Asians. Karen Tsang, senior VP of creative affairs at Pier 21, calls Kim “one of today’s freshest stand-up performers” and says her company is “incredibly excited to collaborate with her” on her first scripted series. The series will follow a doctor (kim) who loses her dream promotion and moves back to her hometown in Canada to run a dilapidated walk-in clinic. Kim says of the series,
“This show represents an intersection of two of my passions – comedy and health care. Like most Canadians, I have experiences and opinions about health care in our country. Unlike most Canadians, I have previous experience in health care both academically and professionally. I hope that the show will bring entertainment and laughter to a lot of people through our hilarious characters and relatable stories. I am grateful to have found collaborative partners at Pier 21 who support my vision so that we can make some magic happen!”
Kim has worked in the television space before, having received a Canadian Screen Award for her work on the 2022 Juno Awards, to which she also contributed in 2023. She was also part of the writing team for Kim’s Convenience, Run the Burbs, and Still Standing. She was featured in Vibe magazine’s Power 60 list of leading Asian-Canadians alongside Andrew Phung and Russell Peters.
A group of Vice Media’s lenders will acquire the company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A $225 million bid led by Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital was considered the most qualified. Bidding took place on June 20 with multiple offers, but an auction set for June 22 was canceled after none of those offers were deemed superior to that of the Fortress consortium. The offer was a “stalking horse” bid from early on in Vice’s bankruptcy processes intended to set a floor for eventual sale. If the deal is approved, Vice could come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July. Vice Media originally filed for bankruptcy in May in New York’s Southern District. Though Vice Acquisition HoldCo, LLC said that “The sole successful bidder” was the Fortress consortium, LA company GoDigital put out a statement asserting that its offer was “significantly more” than the stalking horse bid by the sellers and “included a concrete plan with real, renewed leadership, expertise, and investment that would have led to a profitable Vice in under 12 months.” Vice has been searching for investors or buyers for some time, but have struggled to close a deal.
AT&T remains unthreatened by cable companies’ gains in mobile subscribers. At the Bank of America C-Suite Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference in London, AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches claimed to see a “pretty high” bar for a DirecTV and Dish Network merger. In early June, the three providers of nationwide US networks AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile said they were not in talks to provide wireless at wholesale prices, a fact that Desroches touted at the conference. Dish and Amazon followed suit, saying they were not planning on launching such a service. Since AT&T sold a 30 percent stake in DirecTV, U-Verse, and AT&T TV to TPG Capital in 2021, creating the new DirecTV, Wall Street has been abuzz. Many wonder if a long-awaited Dish/DirecTV merger could actually happen, with some arguing that the merger would help both companies better compete in the streaming market. When asked whether DirecTV would become a Dish buyer, Desroches responded,
“We separated from our satellite platform, and we have it in a construct where it’s been optimized by our partners at TPG. They do a really good job in optimizing that asset.”
He further stated that his company has a competent grasp on upcoming equity income from TPG’s DirecTV. He said,
“Before they would decide to do something with another party, whether it be Dish or somebody else, I think there is a fairly well-defined bar that we have. . . . We have [a] really good line of sight over the next several years as to what cash flows will come out of that business. And whatever we would do would have to be incrementally much better than that.”
The cable industry’s possible move to offering wireless services don’t faze AT&T, the executive said. Nor does the possibility of Amazon’s offering wireless. Desroches asked,
“Why would Amazon do this? Amazon has high penetration, let’s say more than 80 percent of U.S. households. Would they really enter into a variable pricing construct for an incremental 10 percent[?] Also, [what about] a player that is unproven and doesn’t have a built-out network at this stage? I’m just not sure that any of the players have the incentives to really lean into this at this stage.”
He called the industry stir a “rumor about nothing,” even comparing it to Seinfeld: “a show about nothing.”
Desroches flaunted record wireless industry profits, calling the telecom sector “incredibly healthy” and noting a strategy similar to that of streaming services, “not [chasing] subscribers for the sake of chasing subscribers.”
Nexstar Media Group has announced that its stations in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Tampa will become affiliates of The CW on September 1, 2023. The CW’s new affiliates will be WPHL Philadelphia, KRON San Francisco, and WTTA Tampa, all of which are currently affiliates of Fox’s MyNetworkTV. After the switch, all affiliates will continue to carry MyNetwork on digital broadcast channels. Nexstar purchased control of The CW from Paramount Global, after which CBS announced that it would drop all eight of its affiliates with The CW. CBS still owns The CW affiliates in the cities of Atlanta, Seattle, Detroit, Sacramento, and Pittsburgh, and Nexstar has announced its commitment to continuing The CW’s reach to 100% of US TV households. Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said of the move,
“The addition of these Nexstar-owned stations as affiliates will bring the number of Nexstar and partner-owned CW stations to 40, covering 38% of U.S. TV households — equivalent to or greater than the local owned-and-operated station presence of any of the other major network owners. Adding The CW’s programming to them will offer advertisers a variety of new linear and digital opportunities to reach millions of viewers.:
The stations will carry primetime programming, live sports, and live events offered by The CW. Dennis Miller, The CW president, said,
“These stations in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Tampa have deep relationships with their viewers, advertisers, and the communities they serve; they are a great addition to the CW family and will help us better shape the future of the network.”
Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has announced a 10-year deal with VideoAmp. Under the new deal, VideoAmp will serve as Allen Media Group’s “primary and preferred advertising currency.” Allen announced the move at the company’s upfront presentation in April, during which the company used VideoAmp as currency for its upfronts, including The Weather Channel. The deal is unusual, both due to its length and the fact that VideoAmp is most commonly used as an alternative currency rather than a primary one. VideoAmp founder and CEO Ross McCray said of the deal,
“What’s unique about this deal is Allen Media Group is the first to say VideoAmp is the primary currency, not the alternative. It’s a huge step forward for the entire industry as we are making measurement more accurate and equitable for everyone.”
VideoAmp’s competitor is industry giant Nielsen, a company that Allen has sued for fraud, alleging that its measurement failures cost the company. VideoAmp’s dataset comprises nearly 40 million households and a variety of data sources, which it says provides more accurate and representative ways of measuring an advertiser’s impact. Byron Allen says of VideoAmp,
“Reliable big data measurement is much needed and will save the industry. This is something we have been waiting on for a long time — a company to come along and break the mold, to take us to the next level and to measure our channels properly. For Allen Media Group, that solution is VideoAmp.”
Comcast’s NBCUniversal has announced an expansion of its One Platform advertising technology, data, measurement, and content offering. Under the new expansion, advertisers will be more aptly able to manage multi-market campaigns across linear and connected TV as well as premium digital video inventory, all in one buy. One Platform will partner with Comcast’s advertising management solution FreeWheel, which allows clients to manage and monetize ad inventory across 190 countries in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. The expansion will allow marketers to scale and engage more efficiently to “maximize return on investment,” according to the firm. The expansion will launch into full operation in October, partnering with Spain’s Atresmedia, Canada’s Bell Media, Australia’s Seven West Media, Sky Media in the U.K., Talpa Network in the Netherlands, France’s TF1 Group, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) in Japan and Omnicom Media Group in the US. Global CEO of investment at Omnicom Media said of the new offering,
“Today there is huge friction when trying to execute from a single access point a multi-market, multi-publisher premium connected TV campaign. Add the need for mass reach and scale, standardization of measurement and reporting, and that friction is currently a barrier to entry.”
The expansion is intended to lubricate the gears of this complicated process to allow for streamlining and efficiency. According to Krishan Bhatia, president and chief business officer at NBCU,
“The complexity of transacting across multiple markets at scale has so far kept marketers from accessing an increasingly global consumer base. . . . Marketers looking to diversify their global budgets can now reach millions more consumers and have frictionless access to brand-safe ad inventory across a diverse network of over 100 premium broadcasters, 1,000 digital publishers, and more than 50 demand-side platforms in one singular seamless transaction.”
One Platform’s “centralized framework” and simplified processes boast their ability to drive growth and ease the headache of multi-market advertising.
Six-time NBA All-Star Joel Mbiid has announced his entry into the media industry with his production studio Miniature Géant. The studio, a partner with LeBron James’ and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company, will “ showcase stories of people who have taken nontraditional paths to success.” Projects could include scripted, unscripted, branded, and audio content. Embiid, who was born and raised in Yaounde, Cameroon, hopes that his upbringing and inspiring story of overcoming injuries can be a guide for the types of stories his production studio will explore. Embiid is far from the first sports star to enter the media space: Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions recently sold a stake to North Road Co., and industry giants Amazon and Netflix have put their names behind several behind-the-scenes sports documentaries. Miniature Géant’s first development slate includes an adaptation of Sebastian Abbot’s book The Away Game: The Epic Search for Soccer’s Next Superstars, which it will produce in partnership with John Skipper’s Meadowlark Media. The Away Game will tell the story of a group of teenage boys scouted in the continent of Africa to join a prestigious soccer academy overseas. Embiid, who himself was recruited from Cameroon to play basketball in the United States, will executive produce with Skipper and Deadre Fenton. Miniature Géant will also produce a biopic following Embiid’s own life story. The SpringHill Company will provide Miniature Géant with production, development, and strategic resources, as a company known for telling emotional sports-centric stories. Carter says that Embiid’s company has legs, touting his passion and drive.
“You have to really want to build something, and Joel Embiid, I’ve gotten to know him personally, is very focused.”
BBC Studios has acquired pan-Scandanavian production company STV, growing its impact in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. BBCS calls the deal a “response to the growing appetite and opportunity for BBC content in the market.” With operations in Copenhagen, Norway, and Sweden, STV has helmed such titles as Big Love and Get Lost Honey, and also produces Long Lost Family, Wheel of Fortune, and Bargain King locally across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. BBC Studios and STV have partnered in the past on Denmark Saves the Planet for TV2 and are in development for a local version of The Office. STV’s three bases will be rebranded as BBC Studios Nordic Productions. The regional MD Daniel Svarts will report to head of BBC Studios Nordic Jan Salling. BBCSNP will produce local adaptations of both scripted and unscripted content, as well as original IP, and will take over distribution and production of STV formats outside of Scandinavia. The acquisition comes on the heels of BBC’s buyout of Independent Talent’s $9.3 million stake in Sid Gentle earlier this year, as well as its acquisition of Voltage TV, a British factual producer. BBCS most recently bought a 25% stake in Channel 4’s Mothership Production. Managing director of international production and formats at BBC Studios Matt Forde said,
“There is a huge affinity and affection in the region for the BBC brand and a growing demand for our content locally. Establishing a wide-ranging production presence in the region has been a long-held ambition and a natural evolution for the business after several years of successful format licensing and co-production. Becoming a fully-independent local producer will allow us to have wider creative conversations and to act on the opportunity to develop and export original creative IP from Scandinavia to the wider international market. This acquisition cements us as an international producer of scale.”
Executive VP of international production and formats at BBC Studios Jacob DeBoer expressed excitement for the deal, saying:
“We are thrilled that the incredibly talented team at STV are joining forces with us to become BBC Studios Nordic Productions. They are an exceptionally creative team with an excellent track record and with Jan at the helm of our newest production house, we can’t wait to bring our ideas to broadcasters and platforms in Scandinavia and beyond.”
Strike Watch: Broadcasting and crew union Bectu met with UK broadcasters on June 20th to discuss the work stoppage in unscripted TV that has led many screenwriters to seek freelance work outside of television. After the economic downturn and WGA strike, the unscripted landscape is looking bleak. Even in the freelance space, commissions have run dry, leading many freelance writers to find temporary work in hospitality and food service to make ends meet. Bectu is seeking to remedy the situation in its talks with broadcasters. A recent poll by the company showed that almost half of UK freelancers in unscripted are unemployed. Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said of the data,
“Freelancers suffered incredible hardships during the pandemic and it’s clear many of them continue to face precarious employment and the significant challenges that come with this. Today’s meeting was a positive first step in developing an industry-led strategy to address both the current crisis, and drive long-term change in the sector – particularly in addressing the ‘feast or famine’ nature of the industry.”
Childs hopes that “further discussions” can improve the freelance outlook, saying,
“Freelancers are critical to the success of the U.K.’s world-class film and TV production sector and we are committed to working with all relevant stakeholders, including broadcasters, to find and implement solutions.”
The Directors Guild of America has ratified a new film and TV contract with an 87% favorable vote. Of the 6,728 voters, which was 41% of those eligible to cast a vote, only 13% opposed the contract. The DGA calls the 41% turnout a level “[exceeding] any prior DGA ratification vote.” Releasing exact data is a surprising move, as the Guild typically only says whether or not the contract was ratified. DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter said,
“I’m proud to report that DGA members have joined together to ratify a new contract that will allow every Director, Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Director and Stage Manager to share in the success of what we create. Our new contract secures gains on wages, global streaming residuals, safety, diversity and creative rights that build for the future and impact every category of member in our Guild. The strength of our new contract is a testament to our Negotiations Committee Chair Jon Avnet, Negotiations Co-chairs Karen Gaviola and Todd Holland, National Executive Director Russell Hollander and our outstanding professional staff.”
She added that the Guild did not bargain “in a vacuum,” and said the DGA stands with the WGA in their fight for a new contract.
“We stand united with writers, actors and all crew members in our shared fight to move our industry forward. We support the actors who are in negotiations and the writers who remain on strike, and we will stand with the IATSE and Teamsters when they negotiate their agreement next year. We won’t be satisfied until we all have fair contracts that reward us for our creative work — we must create a vibrant, sustainable industry that fairly values us all.”
The DGA’s agreement with the AMPTP came 33 days into what is now a 50+ day strike. During the last WGA strike in 2007-8, the DGA’s agreement with the AMPTP came on the 74th day of the strike, after which the WGA settled for a similar agreement. The WGA has said that this time around, it won’t be swayed by the DGA’s agreement and that its bargaining goals will remain the same. The WGA released a statement congratulating the DGA’s committee on reaching a deal, and the DGA itself calls the deal “truly historic.” It includes “significant” wage increases, a 76% increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms, and protections against the use of artificial intelligence. The deal includes increased studio transparency in reporting residuals, improvements in the area of diversity and inclusion, and the addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday. Additionally, the DGA’s deal includes:
Gains in wages and benefits, including a 5% increase in the first year of a contract, 4% in the second year and 3.5% in the third year, with an additional 0.5% going to the funding of a new parental leave benefit
Increase in the residuals for SVOD drama programs with a new structure to paying foreign residuals, resulting in a 76% increase in foreign residuals for the biggest platforms, meaning residuals for a one-hour episode will now be roughly $90,000 for the first three years
Agreement confirming that AI cannot be considered a person and generative AI cannot replace member duties
Establishment of the industry’s first-ever terms and conditions for directors and teams in variety and reality SVOD programs, along with improved residuals and allowance for Associate Directors and Stage Managers to share in those residuals
The first-ever terms, creative rights protections, working conditions, and residuals for scripted projects made for free streaming services, in which Unit Production Managers and Assistant Directors will share
For the first time, compensation for the “soft prep” stage for Feature Directors prior to the start of official director preparation
Expanded post-production creative rights for Episodic Directors for Pay TV and SVOD and an additional guaranteed shoot day for hourlong programs
A one-hour reduction in the length of the Assistant Director’s workday
Concrete safety protections, including the first-ever program requiring employment of safety supervisors, expanded training programs for directors and teams, and banning live ammunition on set.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, also known as the Teamsters Union, has announced the creation of a $2 million fund to support IBT members who are out of work due to the WGA strike. The fund received unanimous approval from the General executive Board. The IBT’s Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division will outline eligibility requirements for all Teamsters in the film and TV industry. General president Sean O’Brien said of the aid effort,
We can’t rely on employers to protect and support our members. Teamsters protect Teamsters. This money will go to support hardworking families.
Director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division and Western Region Vice President Lindsay Dougherty, who is also the secretary-treasurer and chief executive office of Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399, said,
The studios and tech companies should be ashamed of themselves for playing games with people’s livelihoods. We are committed to making sure our members are protected and getting this money into their hands as soon as possible.
In early June, IATSE’s board also approved a $2 million fund for members out of work due to the WGA strike. The WGA itself, alongside several of its high-profile members like J.J. Abrams, Greg Berlanti, Adam McKay, Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes, Mike Schur and John Wells, donated $1.7 million to the Entertainment Community Fund at the beginning of the strike in recognition of its effects across the industry. Now nearing its 60th day, the WGA strike is being felt across unions and across the industry.