Coming age genre

Leave it to a sitcom vet like Melissa Rauch to remind the industry that everything old can be new again. After persuading Warner Bros. TV to dust off the Night Court IP and revive it for NBC, multi-cams are suddenly hot again, with every broadcast network — and even a few streamers like Netflix (home to new hit That ’90s Show , which just got renewed ) are putting studio audience comedies in development. While no one is straight-up abandoning single-cams — the success of CBS’ Ghosts and ABC’s Abbott Elementary have certainly made sure of that — there’s no beating the cost-effectiveness of one of TV’s most tried and true genres. “Everybody had a hunch they should probably be doing more of them,” says one high-powered comedy agent. “Night Court is a good sign there is an appetite for that. Everything I’m hearing out of CBS, for example, is that they have pretty hard caps they are trying to hit on these multi-camera shows. The Conners is an exception because … [Read more...] about Thanks, ‘Night Court’! How Multi-Cams Are Having A Moment … Again

EXCLUSIVE : AGBO , the film and TV company founded by Anthony and Joe Russo , has a new President of Film. Michael Disco , fresh from producing superhero film The Flash , has joined the company in that role. He will oversee the creative and business strategy for AGBO’s film activities. He reports to AGBO’s Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot, who was promoted to that role in November. It comes eight months after the company expanded its senior team with hires including Scott Nemes as President of Television. AGBO is behind films including Oscar nominated Everything Everywhere All At Once and Ryan Gosling-fronted The Gray Man as well as the upcoming Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt film The Electric State. For the last couple of years, Disco has been running his own production banner The Disco Factory, in addition to producing The Flash , alongside the Muschietti siblings. Before that he had a 20-year run at New Line, including as EVP, … [Read more...] about Michael Disco Joins Russo Bros’ AGBO As President Of Film

There was a moment last November when Channel 4 ’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief. Sat at the top table of Channel 4’s 40th birthday party, Chief Executive Alex Mahon was flanked by her friend Elisabeth Murdoch and doyens of UK broadcasting, including BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive. They were raising a glass to a British success story in a rare public display of unity. On the same table was Thérèse Coffey, a senior government minister who had survived three prime ministers in the space of little more than three months. Her presence at the V&A Museum event bemused others, who believed the government only had hostile intentions for Channel 4 after sanctioning a sale of the broadcaster against its wishes. Things soon got weirder. Coffey turned to Mahon and asked if she could raise a glass to Channel 4. She then proceeded to surprise the room full of TV luminaries by serenading her hosts with a rendition of happy … [Read more...] about Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television

UPDATED with content spend stats from annual report: Giant Amazon said its total expenses for video and music came to $16.6 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2021. Video and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content, according to the company’s latest annual report that followed fourth quarter financials yesterday. On an earnings call Thursday, CFO Brian Olsavsky noted that Amazon spent $7 billion on originals, live sports and licensed content in 2022, up from $5 billion the year before. It’s unclear if those figures include all worldwide video content, which is increasingly central to Amazon’s strategy in driving membership for Prime, the biggest loyalty program in the world and the beating heart of the company. Amazon (which acquired MGM last year for $8.5 billion in cash) carefully evaluates its return on … [Read more...] about Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion

Lil Keed 's family has released a new song from the YSL rapper ... nearly one year after his tragic passing from a rare blood cell disorder. Keed's mother, Tonnie "HoodMama" Woods-Reed , lead the charge for the rollout with a heartfelt message of bereavement, but still wanted his fans to have music to attach to their own sorrow. "On May 13, 2022, I lost my son Raqhid Render—who many of you knew as the artist Lil Keed. While this journey through the different phases of grief has been indescribably hard, a way that I have found to cope is through his music." Getty Rapper Lil Keed Dead at 24 She continued, "Right before his passing, Keed was hard at work on what would’ve been his highly anticipated next album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2. As much as he was a great father, son, and friend—he was also an artist who (thanks to many of you) lived and continues to live through his music. With that being said, the time has come to share some of our last pieces of … [Read more...] about Lil Keed’s 1st Posthumous Song ‘Long Way to Go’ Drops