Small Screens: Co-EP Albert Alarr Leaves ‘Days Of Our Lives,’ Apple TV+ Drops ‘The Changeling’ Trailer
Days of our lives - Peacock
Broadcast: Days of Our Lives co-executive producer Albert Alarr is leaving after 20 years on the NBC soap. The decision to remove him from his role comes after a nine-week internal misconduct investigation that DOOL producers/distributors Sony Pictures Television began in March. Weeks of public criticism of Alarr’s management followed when the official report was made public in July. During the week of July 31st, at least 25 members of the cast and crew signed a petition echoing allegations of the toxic work environment and gender discrimination perpetuated by Alarr; the petition asked for Alarr to be replaced as co-executive producer by longtime director Sonia Blangiardo. Instead, coordinating producer Janet Drucker, a producer on DOOL since the 1980s, was announced as Alarr’s replacement in a statement from executive producer Ken Corday on August 4th. Corday also announced leadership would be implementing additional HR protocols including increased HR presence and more channels for reporting concerns. In a statement responding to the leadership change, Alarr said, “It is hard to overstate how heartbreaking I find this situation,” and that the accusations were all false or taken far out of context. Alarr also pointed out that the decision is a switch from the one made directly after the report to keep him in his role. He added that he feels the decision was the result of studios “[caving] to a cynical pressure campaign to force me out of my job,” accusing two unnamed people of inciting controversy to push him out. While previous production schedules showed Alarr returning to direct on August 4th, the series extended a pre-planned filming hiatus on July 28th for another week in the aftermath of the controversy. In his statement to cast and crew, Corday said the pre-planned hiatus for the week of August 14th would continue, but production would resume August 7th.
Streaming: Max has delayed season two of Issa Rae’s from the originally scheduled return on August 10th. With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes still active, several summer series have pushed their debuts. FX also recently announced that A Murder at the End of the World, starring Emma Corrin, would be pushed from August 29th to sometime in November. Since striking actors cannot promote projects from struck companies and writers can only participate in limited press opportunities, studios seem to be waiting as long as possible for talent to help generate buzz again. In setting a November premiere date for Rap Sh!t, Warner Bros. Discovery appears to be betting, or at least hoping, labor conflicts will be resolved by then. Executive produced by creator Issa Rae and showrunner Syreeta Singleton, Rap Sh!t follows friends Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) as they form a rap group and face the internal conflict of staying true to themselves or conforming to the expectations of the industry. As long as the release date does not get pushed again, you can watch the first two episodes of Rap Sh!t on Max starting November 9th, followed by weekly drops until the finale on December 21st.
PBS KIDS plans to utilize AI to create interactive segments in its upcoming series Lyla in the Loop. The series is set to release in February 2024 and targets kids ages four to eight; it follows a young girl named Lyla as she looks to creatively problem solve and re-purpose upcycled materials. Mighty Picnic and Pipeline Studios will produce the series along with the special, AI-enabled episodes. The idea behind these select episodes is that Lyla will occasionally ask questions, and when kids watching at home answer, she’ll be able to understand and respond accordingly. PBS plans to analyze the efficacy of the episodes for helping kids learn and stay engaged, but this is not the first time the public broadcaster has experimented with interactivity. Over the past few years, Scribbles and Ink and Team Hamster! featured segments where kids would have to draw or move objects to drive the episode forward. PBS KIDS’ Vice President and General Manager Sara DeWitt has said that blending games and video in this way incites deeper engagement and allows kids to be creators of their own stories.
Apple TV+ has dropped the official trailer for its upcoming series, The Changeling, calling it a “fairytale for grown-ups.” Starring Academy Award nominee LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You), the series is being written by showrunner Kelly Marcel (Cruella, Venom) and adapted from the eponymous book by Victor LaValle. The trailer teases an increasingly dark and supernatural tale rooted in Apollo’s (Stanfield) love and search for his missing wife (Clark Backo). The trailer is filled with stunning, mind-bending, and horrifying images, interspersed and intensified by earnest moments between Stanfield and Backo. The Changeling is produced by Apple Studios and Annapurna, and executive produced by Stanfield, Marcel, LaValle, and director Jonathan van Tulleken. The first episode drops on September 8th on Apple TV+.
Rem Conway
Industry: Leslie David Baker, well known for playing Stanley Hudson on all nine seasons of NBC’s The Office, is returning fans’ donations for his proposed Stanley spinoff, Uncle Stanley. Baker launched the campaign on Kickstarter in 2020 with a crowdfunding goal of $300,000, and by the end of its run, the campaign earned $336,450 from 1,640 individuals. In an update Baker posted on Instagram, he said that due to backers’ pledges being lowered, dropped, or never collected once the campaign was completed, the final amount received from Kickstarter was $110,629.81, the whole of which would be used for Kickstarter fan rewards and refunds. The decision to refund comes after indefinite delays, due first to COVID lockdowns and now the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes; fans also recently took to social media to question what exactly Baker did with the money. Baker detailed that backer rewards would be fulfilled in addition to full refunds for everyone and that each donor would receive a message notifying them of refund logistics in the coming weeks. Once the strikes are resolved, Baker still intends to pursue the project; the series would follow Stanley as he comes out of his Florida retirement and moves to Los Angeles to help his nephew save a small motorcycle/flower shop business.
A study from the media regulator Ofcom shows that revenues in the U.K. streaming sector have risen 21.5% year-on-year to £3.3 billion ($4.1 billion) from 2022. However, while rising prices and subscription increases (from 39.7 million in Q4 2021 to 42.2 million in Q4 2022) drive growing revenues, the study argues that “overall SVoD household penetration has plateaued.” The study asserts:
“There are increasing signs that the market is entering a phase of maturity that poses challenges for future growth and sustainability. Despite continued revenue growth, SVOD business models are under pressure as attracting and retaining customers becomes more challenging, with providers increasingly looking to identify new revenue-generating opportunities, better manage costs and focus on profitability.”
While 66% of U.K. households reported using an SVOD service in Q1 2023, this is down from a peak of 68% in Q1 2022. Overall viewing is similarly down, with broadcast viewing recently experiencing the sharpest ever annual fall, from 83% of viewers tuning into traditional broadcast TV each week in 2021 to 79% in 2022. BBC One is the only channel to still reach over half the viewing population every week. Average daily viewing time for broadcast is also down, even for audiences aged 65 and over for the first time. However, BBC One and ITV1 still have the eyes of 20% and 13% of viewers, respectively, making them the top two destinations for viewers, with Netflix coming in third at 6%. Watching broadcasters’ content (either live, on recorded playback, or streamed on-demand) still accounts for the greatest proportion of daily TV and video consumption time (60%, or two hours and 41 minutes per person, per day). In terms of where the future of viewership might head, broadcasters’ streaming services are taking a larger share of broadcasters’ total viewing; ITVX accounted for 10% of ITV’s total viewing in the first half of 2023, compared to 7% across 2022, and BBC iPlayer accounted for 18% of BBC’s total viewings, up from 14% in the same time period. However, with whatever shifts and speculation in viewership there may be, content spending among public service broadcasters grew to £2.9 billion in 2022, up 10.3% year-on-year, and 14.2% greater than in 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Lisa Collins was announced as the new Group Vice President of Warner Bros. Discovery, overseeing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion employee initiatives across North America. She will report to Chief DEI Officer Asif Sadiq and succeeds Karen Horne, who left the position in late June amidst the company’s rethinking of the DEI division. Collins is coming off her role as Head of People & Culture Partners for Production at WBD, in which she led the team responsible for HR support on productions around the world. She also held HR leadership positions at Warner Bros. Entertainment, NBCUniversal, and Netflix. In her current role, Collins will oversee employees’ regional needs, content and pipeline program initiatives, and internal DEI programs around recruitment and leadership development, as well as embedding DEI in all operations, and growing Business Resource Groups. In addition to Collins’ promotion, several other WBD executives shifted into new roles on the DEI senior leadership team, including Christian Hug (GVP of DEI International), Yvette Latour (VP of DEI Workforce and Strategy), and Claire Brody (Director of DEI, EMEA).
Hallmark Media announced Tuesday that President and CEO Wonya Lucas is exiting her role at the end of the year. Holding the title since July 2020, Lucas will soon transition to serving on the Hallmark Media Board of Directors. Lucas succeeded CEO Bill Abbott, who stepped down in January 2020 after Hallmark Channels’ controversial handling of an ad featuring a same-sex couple kissing (Abbott has since launched the rival Great American Family network which has poached some of Hallmark’s top stars). Since then, Lucas has made increased representation a priority, showing her commitment to behind-the-camera diversity by launching the Make Her Mark Women’s Directing Program. Lucas also developed key partnerships with Peacock, YouTube, Hulu, and several FAST/AVOD platforms. Now, Lucas will work with Mike Perry, the President and CEO of Hallmark Companies (including oversight of Hallmark Media, Hallmark Global, and Crayola), as well as the executive leadership team, to facilitate her transition and lead the daily operations of the media business.
Priya Dogra, the President and Managing Director, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) for Warner Bros. Discovery, is leaving the company after 14 years due to the role being closed. Dogra’s boss Gerhard Zeiler announced her exit in an email sent on August 8th, stating the two had “mutually agreed” that Dogra would leave at the end of the year. This comes as the second major departure in two weeks, with the exit of TV Distribution Chief Robert Blair announced on July 24th. Broad layoffs and restructures at WBD continue due to macroeconomic shocks, the downturn in streaming, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. In her 14 years at Warner (in its various iterations), Dogra also served as Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development, and President of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks EMEA & APAC. As the head of the EMEA team at WBD, Dogra had a number of country managers reporting to her and was even scheduled to keynote the RTS London Convention in a few weeks, making her departure a surprise to many. Dogra will not be replaced and, instead, the EMEA team will report to Zeiler.
Lion Forge Entertainment and the media agency Dentsu have partnered to co-develop and co-produce brand-centric, narrative content for Dentsu’s global client roster. Among the top five ad agencies in the world (with $8.23 billion in revenue last year), Dentsu brings top tier clients like Crayola, Oreo, Hershey’s, and more to the non-exclusive, strategic partnership. For its part, Lion Forge has plenty of IPs to leverage, especially for the younger demographics, including the books Sheets by Brenna Thummler and Wrapped Up by David Scheidt (both published in-house). Lion Forge President and CCO Stephanie Sperber said:
“We can also work with clients to create new stories and characters, specifically for [those] who want to bring their brand identities to life through content. Given the way in which content and brand messages are consumed today, the best way to reach audiences is through compelling stories.”
Under the leadership of CEO David Steward II and Sperber, Lion Forge is also prepping Iyanu for Max/Cartoon Network and signed a first-look deal with Nickelodeon Animation last month. Greg Suess and Jon Kanak from Activist Artists Management brokered the deal between Lion Forge and Dentsu and will executive produce any projects that come out of the partnership.
Netflix optimized its rating feature for the mobile app, now allowing users to “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” shows while watching them. Instead of having to go back to the details page, users can simply tap the screen at any point and click on the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, or Two Thumbs Up button at the top. Netflix has continuously tried to increase viewer feedback, beginning with a five-star system, then moving to the thumbs rating system six years ago; in addition to better representing an individual’s viewing habits, activity shot up 200%. Last year, the platform also introduced the Two Thumbs Up button to gain even more detailed feedback. This new mobile optimization will hopefully motivate even more interaction, and the resulting data will in turn help Netflix give more personalized recommendations. A Netflix spokesperson noted:
“You might be so in the zone with a series you really love that you forget to go to its details page to give it a Double Thumbs Up. It’s just one easy step that can help us suggest more films and series that are more tailored to your tastes.”
Disney is hiking up prices for its Disney+ and Hulu premium plans while also offering a heavily discounted, ad-free bundle of the two. Starting October 12th, Disney+ premium (ad-free) will go from $10.99 to $13.99 per month for U.S. customers (a 27% increase), and Hulu without ads will go from $14.99 to $17.99 per month (a 20% increase). Prices for Hulu + Live TV (both with and without ads on VOD) and ESPN+ will also go up, though not as drastically. Disney is also planning on increasing prices for Disney+ without ads in Canada, the U.K, and European markets in December 2023 (up to $7.99 in Canada, £4.99 in the U.K., and €5.99 in Europe) after expanding ad-supported plans there beginning November 1st. The price hikes have been coming continuously, with Disney+ last raising prices for premium in December 2022 and Hulu without ads last increasing rates in October 2022. That being said, the stand-alone ad-supported tiers of Disney+ and Hulu will remain at their current price ($7.99/month); this may be due to the fact that, since launching the ad-supported tier in the U.S. in 2022, the company signed up 3.3 million customers for the plan. The bundle of the two with ads will also stay at $9.99/month and, on September 6th, Disney will launch an ad-free bundle of Disney+ and Hulu for only $19.99 per month — 37% cheaper than the stand-alone bundles — seeming to turn toward bundles as a business strategy. All of this comes after Disney reported a mixed bag for the three months ending July 1st. On one hand, the company increased revenue by 9% to $5.5 billion and halved the operating loss in its direct-to-consumer streaming segment ($512 million from $1.1 billion in the year-ago quarter). On the other hand, the loss is still significant, subscriber counts only increased by 1% overall and 300,000 customers were lost in the U.S. and Canada. With Disney’s CEO Bob Iger expressing in May that pricing for streaming has been “way off” and should be raised to “better reflect the value of our content offerings,” the hikes may keep coming.
Tony Wells, formerly the chief media officer at Verizon, has joined the Nexstar Media Group Board of Directors. In his 30-year career, Wells also served as chief brand officer for USAA and held marketing posts at Schneider Electric, ADT Security, and 24 Hour Fitness as well as currently serving on the board of Yelp. Now at Nexstar, Wells replaces Dennis Miller, who stepped down from the board after he was named president of Nexstar’s network, The CW. Perry Sook, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Nexstar Media Group, commented on Wells joining the company, saying:
“His deep knowledge of the national and local advertising landscape developed over a career in which he deployed billions of marketing dollars for some of the country’s most high- profile brands, will benefit Nexstar as we grow our national assets of The CW, NewsNation and The Hill, and further leverage the largest local broadcasting footprint in the industry.”
Sex Education producer Rem Conway is joining Kudos Knight, the creative partnership between scripted producer Kudos and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Conway will step into a new role as a development producer, leading efforts around a drama slate produced in the U.K.’s West Midlands region. He will support the Kudos Knight management and creative team in identifying and nurturing previously unheard, local voices around the Minerva Works in Birmingham, where Conway will be based. This Town, the BBC six-part drama which is the first title from the new Kudos Knight slate, already completed production; it was filmed on location in Birmingham and Coventry and was produced from Knight’s Digbeth Loc. Studios.
