Small Screen: Possibility of Writers Strike Intensifies, Fox and Hulu Reach a Deal
Folake Olowofoyeku and Bill Gardell - CBS
Broadcast: Comedy series Bob Hearts Abishola has been renewed by CBS for a fifth season. The series has been part of CBS’ Monday nights since its premiere in 2019, and is now the second comedy in the time slot to be renewed this week. The series follows a middle-aged businessman (Billy Gardell) who falls for a nurse from Nigeria (Folake Olowofoyeku) when she treats him in his recovery from a heart attack. The series is produced by Chuck Lorre Productions (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory) and Warner Bros.
Maya Erskine - Rob Kim
Cable: Actor Maya Erskine will star alongside Nicole Kidman in HBO’s adaptation of the Leïla Slimani novel The Perfect Nanny. Both Kidman and Erskine are also executive producers of the series. The Perfect Nanny, inspired by the true story of the murders of Lucia and Leo Crim, follows a nanny whose bubbly personality gives way to something much more grim. Erskine has previously co-created and starred on Hulu comedy Pen-15, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Man Seeking Woman, and Insecure. A release date for The Perfect Nanny has yet to be announced.
Starz has renewed Power Book II: Ghost for a fourth season. Ghost has also cast Michael Ealy in season four. Season three of the Power spinoff will debut in March, following Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.) as he tries to get out from the shadow of his father’s legacy in the drug game. A new antagonist impedes his plan to reunite with his allies, however, and he is forced back into the business. Ealy will play NYPD Detective Don Carter, who leads an elite drug force. Brett Mahoney and Courtney Kemp will executive produce Power Book II with Curtis “50” Cent Jackson.
Jasmine Jobson - Jeff Spicer
Streaming: Jasmine Jobson of Netflix’s Top Boy has been cast as the lead role in ITVX’s new drama series Platform 7. The series, which is filmed in England and based on an eponymous novel by Louise Doughty, follows a young woman named Lisa (Jobson). After witnessing a “cataclysmic event” on platform 7 of a railway station, Lisa’s memory is jogged to find a connection between the event and her own life. The series features supernatural elements along with modern realism. Jobson, 27, is coming off of a BAFTA nomination for her role in Top Boy, and has also been in Noughts and Crosses, Dark Heart, and Surge. Toby Regbo (Chivalry, A Discovery of Witches), Yaamin Chowdhury (The Lazarus Project, The Essex Serpent) and Phil Davis (Trying, Viewpoint) star alongside Jobson in Platform 7, whose release date has yet to be announced.
Hulu and Fox
Industry: Ben Stephenson’s ITV Studios-partnered label Poison Pen Studios has announced new members of its London-based team. Among them is Oluchi Ezah, who will serve as Development Coordinator. Ezeh joins Poison Pen after her time at Heyday TV, where she held the title of Development Assistant. Ezeh has also worked at B-Side Management and now-defunct talent agency Troika. Ezeh says of her new role,
"It's such a dream to be joining Poison Pen . . . [We are] a talented team and I'm so excited by [the] vision for the company. I can't wait to help them bring some incredible ideas to the screen."
Hollywood unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers have reached an agreement to extend their COVID-19 safety protocols, which were set to expire on January 31, through April 1. Minor changes will be made to the previous protocols, such as eliminating pre-employment and weekly testing for some crew. Employers will still be allowed the option to require vaccinations as a condition of employment. The DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters Local 399, IBEW Local 40, LiUNA! Local 724, OPCMIA Local 755 and UA Local 78 have all signed the agreement. In a joint statement, the unions wrote,
“There are no changes to Part 1 of the agreement, which requires the strictest protocols be implemented on productions occurring in any metropolitan area or county with 14 or more Covid-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population.”
They state that the new agreement changes little of the protocols under which most productions are currently working, save for the following key distinctions:
“Weekly testing is no longer required [except in cases of] ‘close contact with an individual who has tested positive for Covid-19.’”
The agreement also grants five additional sick days to crew members who test positive for COVID, and does away with a previous requirement that a COVID Compliance Supervisor be present on set, as long as a member of the compliance team is accessible during working hours.
Fox Entertainment and Hulu have reached a multi-year deal for streaming rights and marketing partnership to Fox’s primetime series. Under the new agreement, Fox primetime programming will continue to air next-day on Hulu, but will now feature Hulu and Fox branding on all platforms. The deal covers entertainment staples, from Family Guy and The Simpsons to The Masked Singer and Next Level Chef. A previous Fox-Hulu agreement was set to expire in September, and it was reported that the network had been shopping outside studios to take Hulu’s place in the former deal. Nearly four years after Disney bought out the assets at 20th Television/Animation and Fox’s stake in Hulu, Fox has held strong as one of 20th TV/Animation’s most valuable network partners. In 2022, NBCU ended an in-season agreement with Hulu and moved the rights to its streaming platform Peacock. Hulu president Joe Earley says of the deal, “Fox has always been a great partner, but now Rob and his teams are leveling-up our relationship with their new marketing commitments, helping viewers understand where they can watch all of these shows.”
Ahead of negotiations for a new film and TV contract, the WGA West is criticizing Warner Bros Discovery for walking back on their promises. In a statement, the WGA said:
“WarnerMedia and Discovery promised that their merger would allow the new company to invest in more original content and create more opportunity for underrepresented storytellers. Less than one year after the merger’s close, Warner Bros. Discovery has laid off hundreds of workers and canceled, pulled, or written off $2 billion in content, spotlighting the predictable harms of consolidation.”
For its part, Warner Bros said in a response later that day that it is “committed to facilitating greater inclusion of underrepresented groups in larger numbers.” Warner Bros Discovery, one of several industry giants represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, will be in talks with WGA for a new film and TV contract later in 2023. With the current contract expiring on May 1, a possible writers’ strike is at the forefront of many guild members’ and onlookers’ minds.