On the heels of the strong boxoffice opening for Boots Riley ’s feature debut, Sorry To Bother You , the musician-turned-filmmaker is making a foray into TV with a script deal at Michael Ellenberg ’s studio Media Res . The project, whose premise is not being revealed, will be packaged and shopped to premium outlets later this year. Ellenberg and Riley first met following the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where Riley’s Sorry To Bother You screened and was quickly scooped up by Annapurna Pictures in a seven-figure deal. The fantasy/science fiction film, which marked Riley’s directorial debut, follows a young African-American telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) who adopts a white accent in order to succeed at his job. Tessa Thompson, Omari Hardwick, Jermaine Fowler, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover and Armie Hammer also star. The film, which also earned Riley the Sundance Institute’s Vanguard Award, opened in limited release last weekend to strong reviews and solid box …
UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report Reveals TV Content From Diverse Writers & With Diverse Casts Resonated With Pandemic Audiences
UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report for 2021 finds TV viewers embraced content from diverse writers rooms and featured diverse casts. The report, which covers statistics for the 2019–20 TV season and was released Tuesday, tracks racial and gender diversity among key job categories, as well as ratings and social media engagement for 461 scripted shows across 50 broadcast, cable and streaming providers. For example, among households of all races in 2019–20, the scripted broadcast shows that earned the highest median ratings were those in which people of color were between 31 percent and 40 percent of the credited writers. Popular shows include Netflix’s Gentefied , BET+’s First Wives Club and HBO Max’s Doom Patrol. “Our findings reveal that diverse audiences prefer shows that have diverse representation in their casts and among their credited writers,” Ana-Christina Ramón, co-author of the report and the director of research and civic engagement in the UCLA …
Sanak: Ek Junoon Actress Tasneem Ali To Play Ideal Mother In Sony TV’s Show Kaamna
Actress Tasneem Ali has made a mark for herself with TV shows like Kaleerein , ' Kaatelal and Sons ', ' Kundali Bhagya ', 'Yeh Hai Mohabbatein' and many more. She is currently seen in MX Player's web series ' Sanak: Ek Junoon ' which was released recently on 16th October where she essays the character of Beena. Now, the actress will be seen in Sony Tv's new show Kaamna which stars Chandni Sharma, Abhishek Rawat in lead. Giving an insight about the show, she said, "The storyline of Kaamna is very different. Definitely not the run-of-the-mill kind. I won't reveal the plot, but I'm sure the viewers are going to love it. It's different." Adding about the role she shared, "I play the female lead's mother, a woman who is of principles and values." Bigg Boss 15: Wild Card Contestant Rajiv Adatia Calls Vishal Kotian 'Manipulator'; Read Statement The actress reveals she doesn't fear getting stereotyped on playing a conventional mother on TV and …
Richard “Dick” Evans Dies: Familiar Face On Iconic ’60s & ’70s TV Shows Was 86
Richard “Dick” Evans, who was a staple of ’60s and ’70s television, died on October 2 of cancer, his family announced today. He was 86. In his 40-year career, Evans played opposite Mia Farrow as a series regular on Peyton Place , acted opposite George C. Scott in Islands in the Stream and starred in Jack L. Warner’s final movie, Dirty Little Billy . And he was ubiquitous on dozens of classic shows such as Star Trek , Gunsmoke , S.W.A.T. , Bonanza , The Mod Squad , Quincy ME , The A-Team , Hart to Hart , Gunsmoke and Lou Grant . Acting in films, theatre and television led Evans to writing, producing and directing a number of films including The Mystery of Howard Hangar , Harry Monument , Shadow of Rain and Shuffle & Cut (A Question for Godard) . His theatrical directing credits include Wings of the Termite, Sliding Dog, Cats in the L.A. River, Angel City, Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, True West, Crime X 2, Club Ded, …
‘Uncoupled’: Tisha Campbell, Emerson Brooks & Marcia Gay Harden Among Five Added To Netflix Comedy Series
EXCLUSIVE: Tisha Campbell ( Dr. Ken ), Emerson Brooks ( The Last Ship ) and Brooks Ashmanskas ( The Good Lord Bird ) are set as series regulars opposite Neil Patrick Harris in Uncoupled , Netflix ’s new comedy series created and executive produced by Younger and Emily in Paris creator/executive producer Darren Star and longtime Modern Family executive producer Jeffrey Richman . Additionally, Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden and Desperate Housewive s alum Tuc Watkins will recur in the high-profile show from MTV Entertainment Studios and Jax Media. centers on Michael (Harris), who thought his life was perfect until his husband blindsides him by walking out the door after 17 years. Overnight, Michael has to confront two nightmares — losing what he thought was his soulmate and suddenly finding himself a single gay man in his mid-40s in New York City. Campbell will play Suzanne, an expensively put-together high-powered real estate agent who is …
Danica McKellar Inks Multi-Picture Deal With GAC Media, Will Headline Holiday Movies Exclusively For Rebranded Network
EXCLUSIVE: Danica McKellar , longtime star of holiday movies for Hallmark Channel, is getting into business with GAC Media . McKellar has signed a four-picture deal to star in and executive produce original films for the company’s flagship networks, GAC Family and GAC Living . For her first project, McKellar stars in and executive produces the original movie, The Winter Palace premiering in January 2022 on GAC Family. “Danica is a world-class talent who is among TV’s most beloved and enduring stars,” said Bill Abbott, President & CEO of GAC Media. “Her combination of creativity and passion is second to none, and I am thrilled to have her join GAC’s close-knit family.” Abbott, former CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, parent of Hallmark Channel, has been bringing in established Hallmark Channel talent he worked with while running the network, and McKellar is the latest. Among the biggest draws to cable television during the holiday season, McKellar has …
Boots Riley Inks Overall Deal With Media Res
EXCLUSIVE : I’m a Virgo creator, executive producer and showrunner Boots Riley has signed a two-year overall television deal with Media Res , the indie studio behind the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series starring Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome ( When They See Us) . Filmmaker Riley got the attention of Media Res founder and CEO Michael Ellenberg with his debut feature Sorry To Bother You. Ellenberg was in Park City for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival where Sorry To Bother You premiered. After seeing the black comedy starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun and Forest Whitaker, Ellenberg approached Riley about working together on a television project. Riley signed a TV script deal with Media Res in July 2018, which resulted in I’m a Virgo . “Boots Riley is one of the most imaginative, passionate, provocative and daring artists working today,” said Ellenberg. “He is a true …
Continue Reading about Boots Riley Inks Overall Deal With Media Res →
WarnerMedia Strikes First-Look Deal With American Black Film Festival Organizer Jeff Friday Media
Jeff Friday Media , the company that organizes the American Black Film Festival , has struck a first-look deal with WarnerMedia . The two-year exclusive arrangement will give networks including HBO, HBO Max, TBS, TNT, TruTV and CNN access to unscripted content ranging from documentaries, docuseries, and specials to reality TV and awards shows. It will also give the WarnerMedia networks a first look at all documentary films submitted to the annual American Black Film Festival. It comes after Jeff Friday Media signed a similar deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment in October 2020 that gives the studio first consideration for narrative feature films submitted to the festival. HBO is a founding sponsor of the American Black Film Festival, which is now under the Jeff Friday Media banner and celebrates its 25th anniversary in November. The festival has helped launch the careers of Ryan Coogler, Issa Rae, Steven Caple, Jr., and Reinaldo Marcus Green. The Turner …
‘The Voice’ Reclaims Monday’s Top Spots While ‘DWTS’ Drops; ‘All American’ & ‘4400’ Make Debuts On The CW
The Voice is back at the top of Monday primetime just a week after losing its streak to Dancing With The Stars and 9-1-1 . Monday’s episode, which saw Ed Sheeran perform Mega Mentor duties, earned a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demo and 6.91 million viewers. The latest episode was up two tenths in demo rating and approximately 11% in viewers from the previous. When it comes to The Voice’ s return to the top, it’s worth noting that the usual suspects of Monday primetime were somewhat out of sorts. NCIS on CBS, which has consistently topped Monday viewers in the past weeks, showed a repeat episode. Meanwhile, Fox saw a bit of a programming reshuffle as The Masked Singer (0.4, 2.15M) filled 9-1-1′ s normal place in the 9 p.m. hour. Dancing with the Stars was the second-highest-rated program of the night and drew in 4.55 million viewers, down from last week. The episode, filled with horror film-inspired contemporary and lyrical pieces, bid farewell to Kenya Moore …
‘9-1-1’ Return And ‘The Bachelor’ Lead Monday Ratings, ‘All American’ Hits Series Highs With Season 3 Premiere
Monday’s primetime was filled with season premieres, starting with Fox’s 9-1-1 and its spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star . The Season 4 premiere of 9-1-1 delivered a 1.2 in the adults 18-49 demographic, a smidge down from its Season 3 finale, but the action drama did score a night-topping 7 million viewers. 9-1-1: Lone Star (0.9, 5.91M) began its sophomore season on par with its Season 1 finale. At ABC, The Bachelor (1.3, 4.79M) took the top spot overall ratings-wise. The reality dating competition led into the medical drama The Good Doctor (0.6, 3.89M), which ticked up a tenth in the demo. All American (0.4, 1.06M) came in hot for its Season 3 premiere on the CW. The sports drama saw a two-tenths boost in the demo from its Season 2 finale, delivering its highest-rated episode ever. It also marked the series’ most-watched episode ever. Elsewhere, CBS aired new episodes of its Monday night lineup including The Neighborhood (0.8, 5.90M), which was up a tenth. …