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The announcement last week that the 2023 Billboard Music Awards will be held on Sunday, November 19, raised a few eyebrows because that had been the date earmarked for the 2023 American Music Awards . Both music award shows are produced by dick clark productions. A date for the 2023 AMAs has not been announced and it turns out, so hasn’t been a network. The AMAs have been an ABC staple; the show was created by Dick Clark in 1973 for the network when ABC’s contract to air the Grammy Awards expired. I hear ABC’s most recent deal for the AMAs ended with the November telecast, and no decision has been made about a contract renewal. “We have offers from both networks and streamers,” a spokesperson for DCP said in a statement. Aside from the marque Grammy Awards, the AMAs has been a reliable top ratings performer though networks have been rethinking their commitment to awards show amid declining linear viewing. NBC opted not to continue with the Billboard Music Awards … [Read more...] about American Music Awards’ Future At ABC Uncertain As Deal Comes To An End

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Freevee will not be moving forward with two of its half-hour scripted pilots, Western and Open Book. Both are currently being shopped elsewhere. Western is a period comedy developed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller ’s Sony TV-based Lord Miller . Pen15 co-creator and star Anna Konkle had been tapped to lead the series. Written by Michelle Morgan, Western is set in the 1800s. It follows Polly (Konkle), a young high-society woman from Philadelphia who travels out west on a desperate quest for a husband only to discover that she has been catfished by a teenage boy. Now stranded in 1866 Montana, Polly, along with the town’s other inhabitants, must find their place in this ever-changing new world, confronting and defying all expectations society has of them along the way. RELATED: 2023 Amazon Freevee Pilots & Series Orders Although her good breeding and opulent clothing make her stand out like a sore thumb in this dustbowl of … [Read more...] about Jessica Simpson’s ‘Open Book’ & Lord Miller’s ‘Western’ Pilots Not Moving Forward At Amazon Freevee; Both Being Shopped

EXCLUSIVE: D.K. Uzoukwu, Telma Hopkins , Jay Wilkison and Norah Murphy have joined the cast of Amazon Freevee ’s Clean Slate as series regulars. They join previously announced stars Laverne Cox and George Wallace. Clean Slate follows old-school and outspoken car wash owner Harry Slate (Wallace), who is thrilled his estranged child is finally returning home to Alabama after 17 years away. However, he has a lot of soul-searching to do when the child he thought was a son returns as the determined, proud, trans woman Desiree (Cox). Uzoukwu will play Louis, a closeted gay choir director at the local church who the older female congregants insist on trying to fix up. He’s a close childhood friend of Desiree, and the only person who gives her a genuinely heartfelt welcome home. Hopkins will play Ella, Louis’ mother, a no-nonsense jack-of-all-trades who has known Harry for much longer than either of them would like to admit. She lives with Louis and is fully aware … [Read more...] about Freevee’s ‘Clean Slate’ Adds D.K. Uzoukwu, Telma Hopkins, Jay Wilkison & Norah Murphy As Series Regulars

EXCLUSIVE: CBS Studios is developing The Mysterious Mortons , a detective drama series for CBS from Amy Rardin ( Charmed ), George Northy ( Charmed ), and Laurie Zaks ( Castle) , Deadline has learned. The show follows a homicide detective who enlists his quirky family of mystery writers to assist him in cracking the cases that perplex the authorities. Rardin and Northy will serve as writers and executive producers; Zaks executive produces under her banner Rosewood TV. Rardin is currently an executive producer/writer on Amazon/Temple Hill’s Teton . She previously served as head writer and co-executive producer on Marvel/Disney+’s Echo , and co-creator/executive producer on the reboot of Charmed for the CW.  She also served as co-executive producer and writer for four seasons of Jane The Virgin for the CW and began her staffing career on ABC Family’s Greek . Rardin is repped by Verve and Sugar23. Northy sold Ozma to Netflix, a series set in … [Read more...] about Detective Drama Series ‘The Mysterious Mortons’ In The Works At CBS From Amy Rardin, George Northy & Laurie Zaks

Britain’s culture secretary Oliver Dowden has denied a report that the government has asked right-wing commentator Charles Moore and former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre to fill two powerful UK media jobs. The Sunday Times reported that Moore has been tapped to be the next chair of the BBC , while Dacre is set to be installed as the new chair of UK media regulator Ofcom . The government is responsible for recruiting for both roles and the Sunday Times said prime minister Boris Johnson wants the pair, both ferocious critics of the BBC, to usher in a “revolution” in UK broadcasting. Senior government insiders told the newspaper that hiring Moore as a replacement for outgoing BBC chair David Clementi is a “done deal,” while Johnson “wooed” Dacre for the Ofcom job over drinks at Downing Street in February. But speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Dowden denied that any decisions have been made prior to the government launching a formal recruitment … [Read more...] about UK Government Denies Offering Powerful Media Jobs To Ferocious BBC Critics Paul Dacre & Charles Moore

Getty Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are out on their latest would-be new home -- the couple has pulled the plug on yet another real estate deal ... and they're once again on the hunt. MLS Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that Bennifer has fallen out of escrow on the $64 million Pacific Palisades mansion they seemed to have their sights set on earlier this month -- which was an absolute beauty that would've certainly accommodated their needs. It's unclear why they're bailing ... but we're hearing they're done with it, and are moving on. Getty/Backgrid Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's $55 Million Bel-Air Mansion Deal Falls Through Now, if you're keeping count -- this actually marks the third home they've fallen out of escrow on in the past year. There was a $55 million Bel-Air estate they were set to buy way back in April, but that sale fell through. They were also set to buy another PP palace last month -- … [Read more...] about Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez Drop Out of Escrow Again in $64 Million Home Sale

Motion Picture Corporation of America , the Brad Krevoy -led producer of shows like Hallmark Channel’s When Calls The Heart , has hired two senior executives and re-upped a third. Jennifer Provencher , a former Netflix exec, has been named SVP of Business Affairs. She will focus on business and legal affairs for MPCA films and series. In addition to her post as Director of Business & Legal Affairs at Netflix, Provencher was previously VP, Business and Legal Affairs for Shine America, now known Endemol Shine North America. Courtney Colman has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. She has been CFO at multiple companies, among them XPRIZE Foundation, Mob Scene and Gold Circle Films and before that was SVP Finance & Business Development at CBS Films and VP Participations at Sony Pictures Entertainment. As CFO of MPCA, she will oversee strategic planning, accounting, finance, budgeting and forecasting, Veteran producer Amy Krell has also re-upped at MPCA … [Read more...] about ‘When Calls The Heart’ Producer Motion Picture Corporation Of America Hires Two Senior Execs, Re-Ups A Third

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the season finale of Apple TV+ ’s Dear Edward . Grief isn’t linear, and it doesn’t have a time limit either. While Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series Dear Edward — which tells the story of a grief group that brings together the loved ones of the passengers of a fatal plane crash — has come to an end, creator Jason Katims tells Deadline that he’s only scratched the surface of the stories that he wants to tell with these characters. The series has not officially been renewed for a second season, though Katims is waiting patiently for the call. “There’s 15 or 16 main characters in the show, but there are 180 people on that flight. And aside from those 180, there are all the people whose lives have been touched by that,” he said, adding: “There’s lots of stories left to tell here.” Katims is also the creator of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood , both of which are known for their large ensemble casts. So, it should … [Read more...] about ‘Dear Edward’ Creator Jason Katims Talks Finale Episode & Plans For Potential Season 2

EXCLUSIVE: This is one iconic renewal. Vice TV has ordered six more seasons of Icons Unearthed, which will bring its anthology documentary series from the Nacelle Company through Season 10. After focusing on Star Wars, The Simpsons, the Fast & Furious franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe during its first four runs, Season 007 — or, rather, 5 — will have the James Bond movies in its crosshairs. The series’ MCU-centric fourth season launched March 7 on Vice. “We’ve had the opportunity to tell some incredible stories in Icons Unearthed , and to have six more seasons of storytelling coming up is a testament to how well the show has been received,” Nacelle Company CEO Brian Volk-Weiss said. “I hope we don’t disappoint.” Added Peter Gaffney, SVP Content Strategy & Programming Scheduling at Vice TV: “We’ve had so much fun working with Brian and the Nacelle team to tell these epic stories, and we are excited to continue the collaboration. … [Read more...] about ‘Icons Unearthed’ Scores Six-Season Renewal At Vice TV

Neon has taken the North American rights to the Anne Hathaway -starring Sundance Film Festival premiere Eileen , from director William Oldroyd ( Lady Macbeth ). The distributor is eyeing a fall theatrical release. Oldroyd’s connection to Sundance began in 2013 when his short film Best won the Short Film Competition. Eilee has already notched 87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with critics since its Park City debut in January. The pic, based on the 2015 debut novel by Otessa Moshfegh, is set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter, when young secretary Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) becomes enchanted by the glamorous new counselor Rebecca (Hathaway) at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret — throwing Eileen onto a sinister path. Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland and Owen Teague also star in the pic, which was adapted for the screen by Moshfegh with Luke Goebel. The pic was produced by Fifth Season, … [Read more...] about Neon Acquires Domestic Rights To Anne Hathaway Sundance Movie ‘Eileen’