EXCLUSIVE: Fledgling U.S. production company Catalyst Studios has announced eight-part docuseries EmpowHer going behind the scenes of the films on its inaugural slate driven by six female and non-binary directors and producers. Catalyst Studios was launched last May as a joint venture between social entrepreneur Holly Levow and producer Paul Kampf of Equitas Entertainment, and Mark Pennell of Beacon Pictures, with a focus on emerging talent and diverse storytelling. EmpowHer will follow the journeys of filmmakers from across Catalyst Studios’ slate including Michelle Salcedo with Switch & Bait , starring Otmara Marrero and Katie Clarkson-Hill; Joanne Mitchell with Sybil ; Siri Rødnes with Follow Me starring Connie Nielsen, and Colombian auteur Ana Maria Hermida with the recently announced coming-of-age feature film Alix. Further filmmaker subject s include Tamika Miller ( Honor Student , Station 19 ) and Milena Grujic ( The Future is Bright … [Read more...] about Catalyst Studios Launches Docuseries ‘EmpowHer’ Going Behind The Scenes Of Inaugural Female-Driven Slate
Mbc studios
Work Begins On ‘Peaky Blinders’ Creator Steven Knight’s TV & Film Studio, First Projects Will Film Later This Year
Work has begun on Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight ’s Birmingham TV and film studio. Digbeth Loc. Studios will complete in July and filming will begin in October, including on Knight’s upcoming BBC drama Two Tone. The 80,000 sq ft Digbeth Loc. Studios will create 760 new jobs, according to its founders, contributing £30M ($36.6M) to the local economy as it acts as a regeneration project for the Digbeth area in the West Midlands. Knight, who is also helming the BBC and FX’s upcoming Great Expectations adaptation, had a vision to create a long-term cultural legacy for Birmingham and he forged the idea for Digbeth Loc. with business partner Piers Read, the CEO of TIME+SPACE. The studios are the first such project in Birmingham, which has been boosting its local TV and film industry in recent years. Knight is also involved with the Birmingham Create Central grouping of producers and creatives, which champions local talent. Birmingham City Council has … [Read more...] about Work Begins On ‘Peaky Blinders’ Creator Steven Knight’s TV & Film Studio, First Projects Will Film Later This Year
Guinness World Records Launches First Ever TV Channel
EXCLUSIVE: Guinness World Records , the iconic British institution that has been running for nearly 70 years, has launched its first ever TV channel. Guinness World Records and the recently-launched GWR Studios have tied with U.S. streamer Atmosphere on the FAST network. Shows such as GWR original Guinness World Records: Gone Viral will launch on the network along with a number of shows that focus on sports or fitness record-breaking. Launching in 1955 as the Guinness Book of Records before changing name in 1999, the institution publishes an annual world-renowned book, which carries the latest recordbreakers. Today, the offering has transformed into a multimedia brand. Kathryn Hubbard, Head of Licensing at Guinness World Records, called the channel a “pinnacle moment for both GWR Studios and Guinness World Records in general.” “It presents an amazing opportunity to curate and showcase the very best of our content in partnership with Atmosphere, an industry … [Read more...] about Guinness World Records Launches First Ever TV Channel
‘The Steve Wilkos Show’ Renewed for 17th Season
EXCLUSIVE : NBCUniversal Syndication Studios has renewed the syndicated chatfest The Steve Wilkos Show for a 17th season. The Steve Wilkos Show tackles family and criminal justice, true crime and relationship conflicts. The show is hosted by Steve Wilkos, a former Chicago police officer and U.S. Marine. “We’re so proud to have reached this milestone as one of the longest-running talk shows in broadcast syndication,” said Tracie Wilson, Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News. “Along with our talented production team who bring riveting stories each day, Steve’s life experiences, his quick wit and no-nonsense approach create an organic connection with his audience. We look forward to bringing our station partners and loyal viewers another eventful season.” Wilkos will celebrate 30 years in daytime television in 2024. He started as the head of security on The Jerry Springer Show in 1994 and launched his own talk show in 2007. “I … [Read more...] about ‘The Steve Wilkos Show’ Renewed for 17th Season
Karamo Brown Syndicated Talk Show Renewed For Season 2 By NBCUniversal
Karamo , the syndicated talk show hosted by Karamo Brown , has been renewed for a second season. The news was announced Thursday by Tracie Wilson, Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News. To date, Karamo is sold in 85% of the country and appears on leading station groups including Nexstar, Weigel, Tegna, Sunbeam, Hearst, Sinclair, Capitol, Block, CW Plus, Mission Broadcasting and more. The conflict talk show addresses a wide range of topics, including infidelity, DNA mystery, parenting, and complex family dynamics. The show also features a popular segment called “Unlock The Phone,” where guests have the opportunity for Karamo’s investigative team to uncover their partners’ cell phone history to identify potential infidelities. In its first season in national broadcast syndication , Karamo is averaging over 600,000 daily viewers in 2023, up 18% over its performance for fall 2022. “I’m beyond excited for a second season where we … [Read more...] about Karamo Brown Syndicated Talk Show Renewed For Season 2 By NBCUniversal
Diarra Kilpatrick Strikes Overall Deal With BET, Lands Straight-To-Series Order For Dark Comedy At BET+
EXCLUSIVE: Actress, writer, and producer Diarra Kilpatrick has signed an overall deal with BET for its BET Studios division. As part of the deal, BET+ ordered 8 episodes of the straight-to-series project Diarra From Detroit . Each 1-hour episode of the dark comedy follows a divorcing schoolteacher with an acerbic sense of humor who refuses to believe she’s been ghosted by her rebound Tinder date. Her search for the missing man pulls her into a decades-old mystery involving the Detroit underworld. Production is currently wrapping up on Diarra From Detroit , which is slated to premiere later in 2023. “We are so excited to partner with Diarra. She represents the next generation of content creators, boldly embracing the role of a multi-hyphenate as a writer, actress, and producer,” said Aisha Summers Burke, Executive Vice President, and General Manager, BET Studios. “With a unique and authentic voice, Diarra’s storytelling is fearless, funny, and subversive. We are … [Read more...] about Diarra Kilpatrick Strikes Overall Deal With BET, Lands Straight-To-Series Order For Dark Comedy At BET+
A24 Reteams With ‘Shuggie Bain’ Author Douglas Stuart For ‘Young Mungo’ TV Series
EXCLUSIVE : The first new A24 project to emerge since the studio’s record-breaking Oscar haul last week is international TV series Young Mungo , which is being adapted by Scottish-American author Douglas Stuart from his acclaimed novel. The series, about the dangerous first love of two working class men in Glasgow, is being shepherded by A24’s international heads Piers Wenger and Rose Garnett, and marks a coup for the pair given the stellar reviews and buzz around its author. Published last year, Young Mungo is the second novel from Stuart after Booker prize-winner Shuggie Bain , which Euphoria and Everything Everywhere All At Once producer A24 is currently making into a series with the BBC. A broadcaster has yet to be set on Young Mungo . The story follows Protestant Mungo and Catholic James who live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, … [Read more...] about A24 Reteams With ‘Shuggie Bain’ Author Douglas Stuart For ‘Young Mungo’ TV Series
Banijay, Fremantle, All3Media & ZDF Debate Market Economics And Writers’ Strike: “When One Door Closes, Another Opens” — Series Mania
Top International execs from ZDF Studios, Fremantle , All3Media and Banijay have said the potential U.S. writers strike and changing market economics can create opportunities to strike new business. As Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne put it, likening the challenging of leaving previous market conditions behind to bouncing back after being dumped: “When one door closes, another one opens.” She was talking during a Series Mania panel on windowing and content financing this afternoon in France. International distribution companies are already wrestling with myriad content financing issues as the U.S. market corrects after streamers’ spending momentum slows. All eyes are now turning to the discussions between the WGA and AMPTP, and one potential upshot if a strike kicks off will likely be more international business for U.S. networks. All3Media International CEO Louise Pedersen said U.S. execs at the London TV Screenings at the start of the month had begun … [Read more...] about Banijay, Fremantle, All3Media & ZDF Debate Market Economics And Writers’ Strike: “When One Door Closes, Another Opens” — Series Mania
‘We Were Liars’ Series Adaptation From Julie Plec & Carina Adly MacKenzie Lands Series Order At Amazon
Amazon is moving forward with its series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s novel We Were Liars . The streamer has handed the project, which comes from Julie Plec , Carina Adly MacKenzie and Universal Television and Amazon Studios, a series order. It comes after the project emerged at the streamer in development in December. RELATED: 2023 Prime Video Pilots & Series Orders Plec and her My So-Called Company banner and Universal Television, where The Vampire Diaries co-creator is based, optioned the 2014 book as part of a trio of deals with Lockhart in the summer. Plec and Roswell, New Mexico co-creator Carina Adly MacKenzie are adapting the book. Plec is writing the first episode, and MacKenzie is writing the second. We Were Liars is a “tragic” love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts. Focusing on the the theme of consequences of one’s mistakes, the series follows the wealthy, seemingly … [Read more...] about ‘We Were Liars’ Series Adaptation From Julie Plec & Carina Adly MacKenzie Lands Series Order At Amazon
Julie Plec & Universal TV Option YA Books ‘We Were Liars,’ ‘Family of Liars’ & ‘Again Again’ By E. Lockhart
EXCLUSIVE : Great news for fans of E. Lockhart’s popular YA books: Julie Plec ’s My So-Called Company and Universal Television has acquired the rights to We Were Liars, Family of Liars and Again Again. We Were Liars is a tragic love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts. It’s been on the NY Times bestseller list for the past 22 months. The recently released Family of Liars , the prequel to We Were Liars, takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come. Again Again follows Adelaide Buchwald who, after a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times while confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind. Carina Adly MacKenzie … [Read more...] about Julie Plec & Universal TV Option YA Books ‘We Were Liars,’ ‘Family of Liars’ & ‘Again Again’ By E. Lockhart