Week of « Prev | Next »
1-20 of 64 items « Prev | Next »
Andy Roddick Joins Fox Sports 1 Ahead Of Launch
1 hour ago
Newly retired tennis pro Andy Roddick will co-host Fox Sports Live, the network’s flagship news and highlights show, when Fox Sports 1 launches August 17. He joins Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole, the Canadian duo previously announced as the primary highlight team for the show, which will be the News Corp-owned network’s equivalent and rival to Espn’s SportsCenter. Roddick is no stranger to the spotlight, having been the U.S.’ top male tennis player for years before being slowed down by injuries and age — he won a slew of titles but only one major, the 2003 U.S. Open, before he retired after the U.S. Open last August at age 30. On the media front, he hosted Saturday Night Live in 2003 and co-hosted a nationally syndicated Fox Sports Radio show last year — the guy knows his sports. Sports Illustrated has already reported that Charissa Thompson, co-host of Espn’s SportsNation, »
- PATRICK HIPES, Managing Editor
Logan Marshall-Green Set As The Lead In Cinemax Pilot ‘Quarry’
2 hours ago
Logan Marshall-Green has been cast as the title character in Quarry, a drama project for Cinemax based on the series of novels by Max Allan Collins (Road To Perdition graphic novel). Written by Graham Gordy and Michael D. Fuller, Quarry is set in the 1970s and centers on a Marine sniper (Marshall-Green) who, upon his return home from Vietnam in 1973, finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonized by the public. Combat-hardened and disillusioned, he’s recruited into a network of contract killers and corruption spanning the length of the Mississippi River. John Hillcoat is set to direct the pilot, co-produced by Anonymous Content. Hillcoat, Gordy, Fuller, Collins and Ken Levin executive produce with Anonymous’ Steve Golin, David Kanter, Matt DeRoss and Keith Redmon. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Comedy ‘Bad Teacher’ Gets CBS Midseason Order As Sony TV Wraps Record Upfront
2 hours ago
Exactly a week after its upfront presentation, CBS has picked up another comedy series for midseason, the single-camera Bad Teacher starring Ari Graynor, which has received a 13-episode order. Sony Pictures TV produced the pilot, an adaptation of the 2011 movie, which will now be a co-production with CBS TV Studios. Bad Teacher was among a slew of half-hour pilots that CBS were brass were high on this season. It screened and tested well and, despite not making the cut before the upfronts, talks between CBS and Sony continued through and after upfront week until a deal was reached. Bad Teacher brings the number of new CBS comedy series on tap for next season to a whooping six, the most in almost two decades. (Last season the network picked up a total of two, only one of which, Partners, got on the air.) CBS’ 2013-14 comedy class is split evenly between »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Lifetime’s Anna Nicole Smith Biopic To Debut June 29
3 hours ago
Anna Nicole, which tells the rags to riches story of late Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, will premiere on Saturday, June 29, at 8 Pm, Lifetime announced today. Agnes Bruckner stars as Anna Nicole, alongside Martin Landau, Virginia Madsen, Adam Goldberg and Cary Elwes. Craig Zadan, Neil Meron and Judith Verno executive produced the film which follows the swift rise and fall of Vickie Lynn Hogan (Bruckner), a Texas high school dropout and single mother with dreams of a better life. The biopic explores the sordid details that created Smith’s infamous persona, from stardom to her untimely death from a fatal combination of pills. Madsen portrays Anna’s mother Virgie, Goldberg is Anna’s lawyer, Howard K. Stern; Elwes plays Marshall’s son, E. Pierce; and Graham Patrick Martin (Two And A Half Men) stars as Anna Nicole’s son, Daniel. Mary Harron directed from a screenplay by John Rice and Joe Batteer. »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Emma Roberts Joins FX’s ‘American Horror Story’
3 hours ago
Emma Roberts, who most recently starred in Fox pilot Delirium, is nearing a deal to join American Horror Story: Coven, our sister site TVLine reports. Roberts (Scream 4) will play a self-involved party girl named Madison. She’ll join previously announced Oscar winner Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Taissa Farmiga, Angela Bassett, Patti LuPone and Gabourey Sidibe for Season 3. »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Billy Crystal-Starring Comedy From Matt Nix & Larry Charles Lands At FX With Pilot Order
4 hours ago
The hot cable comedy project, which has Billy Crystal attached to star, co-write and executive produce, Burn Notice creator Matt Nix co-writing/executive producing and Curb Your Enthusiasm and Borat‘s Larry Charles directing/co-writing and executive producing, has been picked up by FX with a pilot order. Titled The Comedians, the single-camera comedy, which was taken out earlier this month, is produced by Fox TV Studios, marking the first FX pilot to not come out of the in-house FX Prods. In The Comedians, Crystal plays a superstar veteran comedian who is reluctantly paired with a younger, edgier comedian for a late-night comedy sketch show. It is based on the 2004 Swedish series Ulveson And Herngren, starring comedians Felix Herngren and Johan Ulveson as they put together a sketch program. Charles is set to direct the pilot, which is said to be in the documentary style he perfected on another cable »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Viacom Boosts Stock Dividend By 9%
4 hours ago
The quarterly outlay rises beginning July 1 to 30 cents a share from 27.5 cents for both the Class B stock (which the public owns) and Class A (79.4% owned by Chairman Sumner Redstone). This is the third increase in the three years since Viacom began paying a dividend. “Our solid balance sheet and strong cash flow provide us the flexibility for continued investment in our popular brands and properties while delivering substantial capital directly to stockholders through dividends and our ongoing $10 billion share repurchase program,” CEO Philippe Dauman says. The boost “underscores why we continue to like this stock” and makes Viacom’s dividend yield “one of the highest among the diversified entertainment companies,” says Wells Fargo’s Marci Ryvicker. »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
MPAA Study Says That Massachusetts Film Tax Incentives Boosted Spending And Jobs
4 hours ago
The new study provides some statistical ammo for those in the Commonwealth who like the tax break, and are still smarting from a state Department of Revenue report in March that raised questions about whether it makes sense. The MPAA commissioned analysis from Hr&A Advisors says that the state’s $37.9M in tax credits in 2011 added $375.3M to the Massachusetts economy including 2,220 full time equivalent jobs. That “reconfirms that incentivizing productions creates jobs and generates enormous economic return for local and state economies,” MPAA chief Chris Dodd says. Recent productions in the state include The Fighter, Grown Ups, Moneyball, Ted and The Town. The MPAA findings contrast with the state Department of Revenue study that concluded the incentive cost taxpayers $44M in 2011 and added about $39M to the state’s economy. Early this year Gov. Deval Patrick urged the legislature to cap the tax break at $40M a year, »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
Studios, USC Team To Ease Tech Headaches In Next-Gen Film, Video Production
4 hours ago
David Bloom is a Deadline contributor. All six major Hollywood studios and a raft of major tech firms have joined to solve compatibility and other issues with next-gen “cloud computing” tools they are increasingly using to create, collaborate on, distribute, protect and archive movies and other media. Dell, Emc, Rackspace and EVault are among the big tech firms taking part. The Entertainment Technology Center at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts will manage the joint standard-setting effort, called “Production in the Cloud.” Ex-Sony Pictures tech executive Ken Williams, now the Etc’s executive director and CEO, said the studios are trying to avoid another round of format wars, such as those that dogged Hollywood with Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD or VHS versus Betamax. Such format wars bring “uncertainty, inefficiency, and confusion to the marketplace, and (slow) product adoption and business growth for all players,” Williams said. “This effort will work to »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Ratings Rat Race: ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Finale Lowest Ever, ‘The Voice’ Hits New Low, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Even
6 hours ago
The second-to-last night of the season featured the Season 16 finale of Dancing With The Stars (2.6/7). In the first finale with four remaining contestants, it came down to former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler, Disney star Zendaya, Olympian Aly Raisman and the Baltimore Ravens’ Jacoby Jones. Musical performances came from rapper Pitbull, Psy and former contestant Wynonna Judd. The two-hour live results show was up 44% from last week, but it was the lowest-rated finale for DWTS ever, down 13% from the last cycle ender on November 27, 2012 and down 21% from its last spring finale May 22. The show was the second-highest-rated of the night behind The Voice but the most-watched by far with 14.96 million viewers. With a live show like this, expect an adjustment later in the day when final numbers come in. Ahead of the season premiere of The Bachelorette on May 27, a special one-hour recap of the funniest moments from The Bachelor (1.2/4) aired before DWTS last night. »
- DOMINIC PATTEN
USA Orders Family Comedy Pilot From Peter Ocko
6 hours ago
USA Network has greenlighted Divide & Conquer, a half-hour comedy pilot written and executive produced by Peter Ocko (Fairly Legal, The Office). The pickup comes on the heels of USA last week making its first comedy series orders in 15 years with Sirens and Playing House and greenlighting half-hour pilot Love Is Dead. USA’s original comedy strategy is built around the network’s off-network acquisition of Modern Family, which launches on USA in September. USA’s first original comedies are slated to premiere in first quarter 2014 as companions to Modern Family. Among Sirens, Playing House, Love Is Dead and Divide & Conquer, Divide & Conquer is the only true family comedy that could go well with Modern Family. Produced by Universal Cable Prods, it gets into the heads of a big family: four children finding their way to adulthood in these complicated times, and the parents whose lives they’re sucking dry to get there. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
TLC Confirms Pickup Of ‘Who Do You Think You Are’
7 hours ago
After keeping mum on reports that it was taking in docu-reality series Who Do You Think You Are for the past nine months, TLC now officially announced that it has ordered eight new hour-long episodes of the Emmy-nominated series, which was cancelled by NBC after three cycles. Production is underway for a July 23 premiere. Celebrities who will be featured on the new season include Christina Applegate, Cindy Crawford, Zooey Deschanel, and Chris O’Donnell. The series, produced by Shed Media U.S. and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, reveals celebrities’ ancestry. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
AMC Networks Chief Says TV Advertisers Want Viewer Passion As Well As Ratings
7 hours ago
This is “a new, developing phenomenon,” AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan told investors this morning at the Barclays’ Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference. Although advertisers still crave ratings points, they also increasingly want to reach people who say that “there are only two or three shows I watch and I live and die for them.” The trend is gaining momentum as viewers discover opportunities to binge view shows on pay TV, VOD and streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime. In addition, young viewers become obsessive about programs when social networks such as Facebook and Twitter help to connect them with others who share their passion. As a result, “that favorite stuff in media is emerging as the most important [driver] of value,” Sapan says. That’s encouraging for networks such as AMC — which has high-engagement hits with dramas including Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad. But it »
- DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor
CBS Reups Tony Awards Through 2018
8 hours ago
The Tony Awards will stay on CBS through at least 2018. The network has inked a new five-year broadcast agreement with The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing for the awards show, which honors Broadway’s best. This illustrates CBS’ increasing commitment to the Tonys. After a string of one-year renewals, CBS in 2010 made a three-year Tony deal, which will now be succeeded by a five-year pact. The Tonys have aired on CBS for 35 years, since 1978. The 67th annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on June 9. The show returns to Radio City Music Hall after two years at the Beacon Theatre. Emmy winner Neil Patrick Harris returns as host. “We’re pleased to renew our commitment to the performing arts and look forward to continuing this great and long-standing partnership by bringing the best of Broadway to primetime television for many years to come, »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Amazon Unveils Fan Fiction Business With Rights From WB’s Alloy Entertainment
9 hours ago
Seattle—(Nasdaq: Amzn)—May 22, 2013—Today, Amazon Publishing announces Kindle Worlds, the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of original stories and characters and earn royalties for doing so. Amazon Publishing has secured licenses from Warner Bros. Television Group’s Alloy Entertainment division for its New York Times best-selling book series Gossip Girl, by Cecily von Ziegesar; Pretty Little Liars, by Sara Shepard; and Vampire Diaries, by L.J. Smith; and plans to announce more licenses soon. Through these licenses, Kindle Worlds will allow any writer to publish authorized stories inspired by these popular Worlds and make them available for readers to purchase in the Kindle Store. Amazon Publishing will pay royalties to both the rights holders of the Worlds and the author. The standard author’s royalty rate (for works of at least 10,000 words) will be 35% of net revenue. As »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
Sharon Osbourne Returning To UK ‘X Factor’
9 hours ago
ITV has unveiled the judges for Season 10 of The X Factor UK with Sharon Osbourne returning to the show. She’ll join Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh. Osbourne was last on the Simon Cowell series in 2007. Last year’s season nine finale hit a low in December and it’s been expected that a revamp was afoot. There will be new double auditions, one set in front of the judges “in an intimate audition room” and the second again with the judges, but in an arena. The auditions kick off on June 4. »
- NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
HBO, FX Lead Critics’ Choice TV Awards — But Where Are ‘Mad Men’, ‘Modern Family’?
9 hours ago
Last year, the Broadcast Television Journalists Association might have helped fuel Homeland‘s surprise Emmy win by awarding its top drama prize to the then-rookie Showtime series. But with today’s announcement of nominees for its 3rd annual Critics’ Choice TV Awards, the group might make more noise with what it spurned than what it honored. HBO and FX lead the network tally with 21 and 19 noms, respectively, and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and FX’s American Horror Story each drew six to top all programs. However, a look at the Best Comedy and Best Drama races reveal some surprising omissions. Missing from the Bjta’s comedy series hopefuls are three-time defending Emmy champ Modern Family (supporting actress Sarah Hyland is the show’s lone nominee), along with recently wrapped perennial 30 Rock and, perhaps most glaringly, HBO’s hipster darling Girls. And conspicuously absent from the drama series combatants is four-time Emmy winner Mad Men, »
- THE DEADLINE TEAM
‘Grimm’ Co-Creators Sign New Overall Deal With Universal TV
21 hours ago
Exclusive: Grimm co-creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf have signed a new overall deal with Universal TV. Under the pact, the writing partners will continue as executive producers on the NBC drama, produced by Universal TV and Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner’s Hazy Mills. Grimm, which Greenwalt and Kouf co-created with Stephen Carpenter, was recently picked up for a third season with an early renewal. Grimm, inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales, has been an unsung hero at NBC. It is the only series from the 2011-12 season, the first overseen by NBC’s current regime, to make it to season 3. A rare success story on Friday, Grimm is the night’s No.1 series in adults 18-49. Its most recent second season (6.9 million viewers, 2.4 in 18-49 in Live+7) was up 14% in 18-49 and 12% in total viewers vs. Season 1. Greenwalt and Kouf exec produce the series with Hayes, »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
ICM Partners Signs Rachael Harris
22 hours ago
Rachael Harris has signed with ICM Partners. She was with UTA. Harris most recently starred opposite David Spade in the ABC comedy pilot Bad Management, which remains in serious contention for a series pickup. She also recurs on USA drama Suits and did an arc on Fox comedy New Girl. On the feature side, Harris is probably best known for role as Ed Helms’ girlfriend in The Hangover. She also starred in the indie Natural Selection, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination, as well as the Diary of A Wimpy Kid trilogy. She next will be seen in the Yahoo! comedy series We Need Help opposite Cheryl Hines. Harris is managed by Principato Young Entertainment. Related: David Spade & Rachael Harris To Star In ABC Comedy Pilot ‘Bad Management’ »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts Sign New Overall Deal With ABC Studios, Will Be Executive Producers On ABC’s ‘Revenge’
23 hours ago
Exclusive: Writer-producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts have inked a new two-year overall deal with ABC Studios where they have been since 2010. At the studio, the duo served as executive producers on ABC’s medical drama Off The Map, as executive producers/showrunners on ABC’s Gcb and most recently as consulting producers on another soapy ABC series, Revenge, this past season. Under the new pact, Berg and Harberts will serve as executive producers on the upcoming third season of Revenge, which is undergoing a showrunner transition, with executive producer Sunil Nayar replacing creator Mike Kelley. ICM Partners-repped Berg and Harberts previously served as executive producers/co-showrunners on the NBC medical drama Mercy, as co-exec producers on the ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies and created/executive produced the WB dramedy Pepper Dennis. »
- NELLIE ANDREEVA
1-20 of 64 items « Prev | Next »
company.