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DirecTV’s ‘Kingdom’ Explores the Men and Women Who Never Run from a Fight
1 hour ago
Muscle Beach appropriately hosted the Wednesday night premiere of “Kingdom,” a brutal and beefed up new Mma-centered drama from DirecTV’s Audience Network.
Creator/Ep Byron Balasco talked about how his Mma fandom, even before the sport approached mainstream popularity, helped inspire the show.
“I’ve always been interested in the world (of Mma), I’ve been a fan of the sport for years going back to 12 or 13 years ago,” Balasco said. “What fascinated me most is that fighting and violence is something we all run from 99 percent of the time. So I was really interested in what makes these guys do this, for relatively little financial reward, and little safety net.”
Balasco emphasized that the series is not a fight-a-week show, and that while the physicality and violence of the Mma world sets the stage for the drama, the episodes are driven by the characters and family drama. Star Frank Grillo, »
- Kevin Noonan
‘Good Morning America’ Dominates Morning News Ratings Race as ‘Today’ Slides
1 hour ago
It’s hardly a shock that ABC’s “Good Morning America” wore the morning-show ratings crown for the first week of the television season, but its margin of victory over runner-up “Today” on NBC was rather surprising.
Racking up its highest-rated frame since mid-spring, “Gma” bested “Today” by its largest margins for any week in more than 20 years (since May 1994). The NBC program was down double-digits in key demos vs. premiere week 2013, while both “Good Morning America” and third-place “CBS This Morning” were on the rise.
Looking at the Nielsen “live plus same-day” estimates for the week of Sept. 22-26, “Good Morning America” averaged 5.677 million viewers — a 2% rise over premiere week a year ago (5.547 million) while “Today” slid 7% (to 4.425 million from 4.752 million). “CBS This Morning” rose 5% to 2.986 million.
“Gma” was even more impressive in adults 25-54, breaking open what had been a tight race a year ago. It was up »
- Rick Kissell
‘Shahs of Sunset’ Protests Staged by Union in New York City, Los Angeles
2 hours ago
Supporters of fired post-production editors on Bravo’s “Shahs of Sunset” have staged simultaneous protests outside NBCUniversal facilities in New York and Los Angeles.
The Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees included giant inflatable rats outside of NBCUniversal headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York and outside of the gates to Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
.@Iatse @IATSE798 @WGAEast @MPEG700 @ICGLocal600 #Solidarity against @Bravotv @RyanSeacrest union busting #1u pic.twitter.com/AkZ7rAOtI7
— NYC Clc (@CentralLaborNYC) October 2, 2014
The demonstrations came three days after the union filed unfair labor practice charges against Bravo Media over the dismissal of the “Shahs of Sunset” editing crew. The crew of 16 was dismissed last week by Ryan Seacrest Productions and Bravo Media.
The editors have been on strike since Sept. 10 in an effort to secure a union contract. Bravo announced on Sept. 11 that it had indefinitely delayed the fourth season of the series, which had »
- Dave McNary
Below the Line Bookings
2 hours ago
Gersh has placed production designers Sebastian Krawinkel (pictured left) (“A Most Wanted Man”) on Dennis Gansel’s “Mechanic 2” and Jon Hutman (“Unbroken”) Pic on Angelina Jolie’s “By the Sea”; and producers Todd Hallowell (“Rush”) on Bryan Singer’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” and Colin Wilson Pic (“Zero Dark Thirty”) on David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad.”
Other Gersh bookings: producers Stephen Jones (“Gravity”) on “Beauty,” in development by Warner Bros., Jeffrey Chernov (“Star Trek Into Darkness”) on Roberto Orci’s “Star Trek 3” and Barrie Osborne (“The Great Gatsby”) on David Lowery’s “Pete’s Dragon”; agency has booked editors Michael Kahn (“Lincoln”) on Steven Spielberg’s untitled Cold War thriller and Nick Moore (“Enough Said”) on John Wells’ untitled chef project.
Wme has signed Simon Crane (pictured middle) (“Edge of Tomorrow,” “World War Z”) for his first directing duties. He continues to be repped by ICM Partners as a second unit director. »
- Peter Caranicas
‘Gracepoint’s’ David Tennant on Remakes, Accents and Spoilers
3 hours ago
American remakes of foreign shows aren’t exactly a new trend. But having the star of the original series come back as a variation of his or her character for the adaptation? That doesn’t happen every day. David Tennant is experiencing the phenomenon now. He stars in “Gracepoint,” which premieres at 9 p.m. Oct. 2 on Fox and is a yankee take on “Broadchurch,” the criminal mystery drama he appears in on the U.K.’s ITV. We asked him about juggling both characters, managing an American accent and handling spoilers.
Are there any major surprises or differences that people who watched “Broadchurch” need to keep an eye out for while watching “Gracepoint”?
There’s a lot that people will recognize if they see “Broadchurch” and I don’t think we’re making any apology for that. I think they’re not the principal audience we set out to make the show for. »
- Whitney Friedlander
HBO and Starbucks to Salute Veterans with Concert Starring Eminem, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood & More
3 hours ago
HBO and Starbucks announced a free, all-star concert to honor America’s veterans and their families, which will be presented live on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
The “Concert for Valor,” which will be held on the National Mall in Washington D.C., will feature Eminem, Jamie Foxx, Dave Grohl, Metallica, John Oliver, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band, as well as special appearances by Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, among others.
HBO will offer its affiliates the opportunity to open the signal, allowing nonsubscribers to view the special to broaden the audience, as it did with its “Comic Relief” specials.
The live event will be executive-produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks and Joel Gallen, who will also direct.
The idea came from the two companies’ CEOs, who wanted to recognize the heroism of the active people in the military, and raise awareness of the value veterans have brought to society. »
- Debra Birnbaum
CNN Digital Cooks Up New Niche With Reality News
4 hours ago
CNN is carving out a vibrant niche somewhere between the breaking news of earthquakes and wars, and reality TV, with its celebrity divorces and people foraging on islands. The cabler calls this category “reality news,” and it’s a format that has been extremely successful with Anthony Bourdain’s multiple-Emmy winning “Parts Unknown.”
CNN Digital Studios, overseen by Chris Berend, launched earlier this year to introduce programming and personalities that could either cross over to the cable network or remain on digital platforms. One of the division’s first shows was urban futurist docuseries “City of Tomorrow,” which appeared on both digital and cable. Other original videos will focus on technology, entertainment, lifestyle and travel.
The influence of Bourdain’s gonzo approach to food and culture is clearly seen in CNN Digital Studios’ upcoming series “Street Food With Roy Choi,” which premieres online Oct. 13. In eight five-minute episodes, L.A. »
- Pat Saperstein
TV Review: ‘Survivor’s Remorse’
4 hours ago
Look past the marquee producers (including NBA superstar LeBron James and his manager), and “Survivor’s Remorse” is really just a new version of “Entourage,” with a predominantly African-American cast and a new big-money setting — namely, pro basketball. And that’s not a bad thing, at least once one gets past the exposition-heavy premiere, which feels too obligated to state every beat of the premise, including the underlying meaning of the title. Starz has ordered six episodes of this half-hour series, which hits just a high enough percentage to warrant a continuing spot on the roster.
As the show begins, Cam Calloway (Jamie T. Usher) is signing a megabucks deal with the NBA’s Atlanta franchise, one negotiated by his cousin and lifelong friend, Reggie (RonReaco Lee). The contract has allowed Cam to financially float his entire family, moving his mom (Tichina Arnold) out of the Dorchester, Mass., neighborhood in which they grew up, »
- Brian Lowry
‘Stalker’ Solid As CBS Wins Wednesday; ‘Black-ish’ Falls in Week Two, ‘Red Band’ Steady
5 hours ago
CBS has won the second Wednesday of the television in key demos behind “Survivor” and the creepy crime tandem of “Criminal Minds” and “Stalker,” the latter of which had a solid but unspectacular premiere and won its timeslot. ABC’s “Modern Family” remained the night’s top show in young adults, but lead-out “Black-ish” took a bit of a hit in its second week.
And two dramas that bowed a couple of weeks ago, NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura” and Fox’s “Red Band Society,” held pretty steady.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “Survivor” won the 8 o’clock hour for CBS (2.4 rating/8 share in adults 18-49, 9.5 million viewers overall), down about 10% from its 90-minute season premiere of last week. It was followed by the season opener of “Criminal Minds” (2.7/8 in 18-49, 11.5 million viewers overall), which was down just a bit in 18-49 from its year-ago opener (and »
- Rick Kissell
TV Review: ‘Mulaney’
5 hours ago
At one point the star, namesake and creator of “Mulaney” refers to himself as a “Seinfeld ripoff,” which is not a good idea, even in jest. That’s because this uneven and uninspired Fox series exposes the difference between sharp observational comedy and funny sitcoms, and those that, well, aren’t. Beyond a “Seinfeld”-like framing device — John Mulaney opens each episode doing standup — and a couple of self-absorbed pals, the show proves inordinately flat, punctuated by a few moments of silliness that, ultimately, enough to justify still add up to less than nothing.
Young and fresh-faced, Mulaney approaches his material with a perplexed, self-effacing persona. Once the actual show begins, he’s a standup — living with another comic, named Motif (Seaton Smith) — who is forced to take a job writing for an aging comic star, Lou Cannon (Martin Short), presently relegated to hosting a daytime gameshow. (Not surprisingly, Short »
- Brian Lowry
TBS’ ‘Conan’ Shows Ratings Momentum in Third Quarter
6 hours ago
TBS’ latenight series “Conan” ended the third quarter with ratings momentum, posting its second straight month of ratings growth.
According to Nielsen estimates, the weeknight series and its encore averaged 906,000 viewers, including 558,000 adults 18-49 during September. It was up 7% in the demo vs. August, which itself was up 12% over July.
Relative to other latenight programs, “Conan” drew more adults 18-34 during the third quarter (about 300,000) than “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Show With David Letterman,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.”
“Conan” continues to perform well on platforms like VOD and the TBS and Team Coco websites, lifting its average audience to about 1.5 million viewers per episode for the year to date. Also, the show’s YouTube channel is averaging 48 million video views per month this year, more than double what it was doing the same time last year.
“Conan” recently reached pass the »
- Rick Kissell
Disney Orders Second Season Of ‘Star Wars Rebels’
6 hours ago
The Force is strong with this one.
“Star Wars Rebels,” the much-anticipated animated Lucasfilm series that will take place in the interim between the series’ prequel trilogy and its founding trio of films, will run for a second season – even if the first cycle of the series doesn’t debut until Friday night.
“The global expectations for this series could not have been any higher,” said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide. “And I am proud to say that the team at Lucasfilm has delivered something that has surpassed even that incredibly high bar – artistically and thematically.”
“Rebels” marks one of Disney’s bigger forays into “Star Wars” content after acquiring Lucasfilm for about $4.05 billion in stock and cash at the end of 2012. “Star Wars Rebels” will be introduced via a television movie, “Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion,” premiering Friday at 9 p.m. »
- Brian Steinberg
USA Network Renews Drama ‘Satisfaction’ for Season 2, Cancels ‘Rush’
6 hours ago
USA Network is 1-2 with its new drama series so far this year. The NBCUniversal cabler has given a second-season order to relationship drama “Satisfaction” and it has pulled the plug on medical drama “Rush.”
“Satisfaction,” from Universal Cable Prods. and creator Sean Jablonski, generated some critical buzz in its portrayal of a modern relationship and a couple who make unconventional choices to keep their marriage intact. Matt Passmore and Stephanie Szostak star.
“Satisfaction” wrapped its 10-episode first season on Sept. 18. The show averaged about 2.2 million viewers across all airings in Live Plus 7 ratings. That’s modest by the standards of USA’s top series, but what sealed the renewal for “Satisfaction” was the strong lift that it delivered in its L7 ratings. Such movement is a evidence that viewers are seeking it out after the initial airing.
“Rush,” which starred Tom Ellis as an unconventional doctor, did not have »
- Cynthia Littleton
TV Review: ‘The Flash’
6 hours ago
Hewing closely to the template of “Smallville,” “The Flash” bursts out of the starting gate, racing through an origin story and related history that transforms baby-faced CSI Barry Allen into the red-streaked superhero. Like all pilots in the genre, the only reason to keep one foot on the brake, enthusiasm-wise, is whether the producers can sustain a high level of special effects and action once a weekly episodic schedule (and budget) kicks in. CW already has found a steadying presence in “Arrow,” and this more comicbook-y entry could be another solid anchor from sibling DC Comics.
Purists can wince, with some justification, at the casting of Grant Gustin as Barry; last seen high-stepping on “Glee,” the thesp gives the character a look that’s more suited to studying for midterms than investigating crimes. Still, the pandering to younger demos hardly stops there (witness the upcoming “Fantastic Four” reboot), so the »
- Brian Lowry
TV Land Orders Comedies ‘Impastor’ and ‘Teachers’ to Series
21 hours ago
TV Land has given series orders to two single-camera comedies — “Impastor” and “Teachers” — that are more offbeat than the cablers’ past original skeins.
Both series have 10-episode orders and are targeted to premiere next year.
“Impastor” revoles around a man on the run from a loan shark who winds up posting as a gay pastor in a small town. “Teachers” (pictured) stars the six-woman improv comedy troupe the Katydids as elementary school teachers who are earnest about helping students even as their own lives are a mess.
“’Impastor’ and ‘Teachers’ are perfect examples of the type of comedies we’re looking for as TV Land evolves its original series – innovative, unconventional, and hilariously funny for an audience that enjoys smart humor with a hint of heart,” said TV Land prexy Larry Jones.
“Impastor” stars Michael Rosenbaum, Sara Rue and Aimee Garcia. Sitcom vet Christopher Vane created the series and exec produces with Rosenbaum, »
- Cynthia Littleton
Fox Pulling ‘Utopia’ Off Tuesday As ‘MasterChef Junior’ Takes Slot in November
22 hours ago
Fox is pulling struggling new reality show “Utopia” — which had been airing twice a week — off its Tuesday schedule, and will replace it in November with “MasterChef Junior.”
Last night’s airing of “Utopia” averaged a 0.8 rating/3 share in adults 18-49 and about 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen — its fourth straight weak performance in the high-profile Tuesday 8 p.m. hour, which leads into comedies “New Girl” and “The Mindy Project.” The “social experiment” series will continue to air on Fridays at 8.
This is a timeslot upgrade for “MasterChef Junior,” which was a solid performer in its first edition on Fridays last fall — averaging a 2.1/8 in 18-49 and 5.6 million total viewers in “live plus-7″ averages. It had been scheduled to debut on Friday, Nov. 7, but will now kick off its second season on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Prior to the debut of “MasterChef Junior,” Fox will plug its Tuesday 8 p.m. hole with »
- Rick Kissell
Cara Silverman, Film Editor of Romantic Comedies, Dies at 54
23 hours ago
Cara Ruth Silverman, a film editor whose specialty was youth-oriented romantic comedies including “He’s Just Not That Into You,” has died. She was 54.
Some of the highlights of her career were Parker Posey launcher “Party Girl,” gay tale “Jeffrey,” “Permanent Midnight,” HBO series “Tell Me You Love Me,” Shana Feste’s “The Greatest” and “Super,” with Rainn Wilson, Liv Tyler and Ellen Page.
Silverman had been quite busy in 2014, editing the USA Network telepic “Divide & Conquer,” with Diane Farr; the musical romantic comedy “There’s Always Woodstock,” starring Katey Segal, Brittany Snow, Jason Ritter and Rumer Willis; an episode of ABC miniseries “The Assets”; and finally “Songbyrd,” the pilot of a series from Universal that did not get picked up.
Silverman started her career with the bang, editing the indie romantic comedy sensation “Party Girl,” starring a young Parker Posey, in 1995.
Before becoming a full-fledged editor she worked on »
- Carmel Dagan
Watch the Creepy Opening Credits for ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’
23 hours ago
“American Horror Story” showrunner Ryan Murphy revealed the opening credits to the show’s fourth installment, “Freak Show,” on Twitter Wednesday and, unsurprisingly, it’s as disturbing as previous main titles.
The trailer uses twisted toys and creepy clowns to tease some of “Freak Show’s” upcoming content, with a carny twist on the opening sequence music. Comparable to previous opening titles, it clocks in at one minute.
“Freak Show” is set in Jupiter, Florida in 1952, when a “troupe of curiosities” arrives to town as a dark entity threatens the lives of townsfolk and freaks alike. It follows the performers and their journey of survival amidst the dying world of the American carny experience.
In last month’s extended trailer, FX showed some of the freaks: A bearded lady played by Kathy Bates, a two-headed character portrayed by Sarah Paulson, and Angela Bassett’s three-breasted woman.
“American Horror Story” veterans Jessica Lange, »
- Alex Stedman
Viacom Blocks Suddenlink Broadband Customers from Online TV Shows
23 hours ago
Viacom, engaged in a contract dispute with Suddenlink Communications, is preventing the midsize cable operator’s broadband customers from accessing its online properties — a tactic the programmer has used in past carriage fights.
As of midnight Tuesday, Suddenlink’s TV subscribers no longer had access to Viacom’s cable nets, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, after the parties were unable to reach terms on a new agreement.
Viacom subsequently blocked access for Suddenlink’s Internet customers to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (pictured above), as well as episodes on MTV.com, Nick.com, Cc.com and VH1.com.
Similarly, in 2012, Viacom pulled dozens of free, full-length eps from its websites during a carriage battle with DirecTV, a move that affected all Internet users. Other programmers have done the same thing: During the war between CBS and Time Warner Cable last year, the Eye retaliated by »
- Todd Spangler
DirecTV Sets New Deal for NFL Sunday Ticket with Digital Rights
1 October 2014 2:03 PM, PDT
DirecTV has reached a new multi-year agreement for its NFL Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market football games — a franchise so important to the satcaster that renewal of the deal became a make-or-break clause in DirecTV’s pending merger with At&T.
Pact includes streaming rights to games on mobile devices that had been negotiated previously. DirecTV will also continue to carry its NFL Red Zone and NFL Fantasy Zone themed channels. The league’s NFL Network has also renewed its authentication deal for DirecTV’s TV Everywhere service. Specific financial terms of the pact were not disclosed, though a previous report in Sports Business Journal suggested the deal could mean annual revenue of $1,3 billion to $1.4 billion for the football league.
“This new agreement is a testament to the terrific long-term relationship we have with the NFL and its millions of fans across the country,” said Mike White, chairman-ceo of DirecTV. »
- Brian Steinberg
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