BILLBOARD-2

THЄ ЄXISTЄNTIΛL CHRONICLЄS

►About | ►Explore | ►Links | ►Updates | ►Alerts

End of the TV "Network"?; Imax Earnings Hit; Spotify's Podcast Growth; Hollywood Unions Push Workers to the Polls

Today In Entertainment

OCTOBER 29, 2020

What's news: Comcast de-emphasizes networks as it details pandemic-hit earnings, Imax benefits from local fare in China and Japan, Mindy Kaling developing Good In Bed for HBO Max, Nicole Kidman lands another Amazon show, Tiny Toons rebooted, a Nancy Drew spinoff, Ted Lasso renewed at Apple. Plus: Disney's Greek Freak finds its director, and how Hollywood's unions are pushing workers to the polls. --Alex Weprin

Comcast And Imax Detail Pandemic Earnings

➤Comcast's entertainment unit NBCUniversal reported lower third-quarter financials as the coronavirus pandemic continued to hit results, especially at the conglomerate's theme parks unit. TV advertising revenue fell again, but the drop was less pronounced than in the second quarter, which observers have called the bottom of the pandemic hit so far. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock has reached nearly 22 million sign-ups, the company shared on Thursday. It's the "opposite of Quibi..."

--But it was the company's film division and theme parks that took the biggest hit: Film unit revenue decreased 25.0 percent to $1.3 billion "due to lower theatrical and other revenue, partially offset by higher content licensing and home entertainment revenue" (thanks, Trolls World Tour). Theme Parks Revenue decreased 80.9 percent to $311 million, "primarily due to Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Japan operating at limited capacity, while Universal Studios Hollywood remains closed." The story.

--The end of the "network"? In Comcast's earnings presentation to analysts, CEO Brian Roberts outlined NBCUniversal's new org structure, which centralizes marketing and other responsibilities, with smaller programming teams, and less emphasis on "networks." "In essence, we have done away with the concept of doing a piece of work for a specific network," Roberts said on the call. "We have realigned kind of dramatically," NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell added.

--Turns out there was an upfront after all. Shell told analysts Thursday "we didn't even think a couple of months ago that there would even be an upfront," but that the company ended up closing deals slightly up in price over last year, but down on volume.

+In other film earnings news: Giant screen exhibitor Imax continues to see a direct hit to its balance sheet from the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, the giant screen exhibitor reported a loss of $47.2 million attributable to shareholders, compared to a year-earlier $9 million profit, as it posted third quarter financial results dominated by the COVID-19 crisis. The company, did, however, se upside with local language fare in markes like China and Japan. More.

+In other earnings news: Music streaming giant Spotify on Thursday said that it ended its third quarter with 144 million premium, or paid, subscribers and 320 million total active monthly users as of the end of September. The figures were at or above the high end of the company's forecast range. Of note on the podcast front: The company said Michelle Obama's podcast became the number one show globally after launch, while Joe Rogan became the number one show in English-language markets when it launched in September. More.

HBO Max Gets 'Good In Bed'

➤Mindy Kaling will star and produce Good in Bed, an adaptation of Jennifer Weiner’s New York Times best-selling novel. The project is being developed for HBO Max and is intended to be an original movie. Liz Sarnoff, a writer-producer on HBO’s hit Barry, will write the script adapting the novel that launched Weiner’s book-writing career, which has seen over 11 million books in print across 36 countries. The story.

+South Africa-based director Akin Omotoso has been hired to direct Greek Freak, a live-action feature centered on NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo being developed by Disney+. Arash Amel, who has written biopics A Private War and Grace of Monaco, penned the script for Freak, which tells the true story of Antetokounmpo, who was born in Greece to Nigerian parents and currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. More.

+The Image Comics title The Strange Talent of Luther Strode has been optioned as a film by the production company Allnighter. The comic series centers around the eponymous Strode, a teenager who mails away for a catalog advertised in a comic book hoping to gain the secret to getting muscles quickly, only to receive an instruction manual from a murder cult as old as the human race. More.

➤A new comedy player: Gary Barber's Spyglass Media Group, Ben Silverman's Propagate Content, Artists First and Off-Road Productions are joining forces for a new comedy film joint venture, Artists Road. The new venture will develop, finance and produce mid-budget feature comedies for worldwide distribution. Artists Road will be led by former Lakeshore Entertainment exec Mark Korshak as CEO, as he reports to Barber, Silverman, Artists First's Peter Principato and Todd Garner for Off-Road Productions. The story.

➤More trouble for theaters: Germany and France announced new lockdowns that will see cinemas close at least through November. French President Emmanuel Macron Marcon said the move was necessary to prevent French hospitals from being overwhelmed by a surge in coronavirus patients. Over the past few weeks, France has been reporting tens of thousands of new COVID-19 infections per day. The President warned that this "second wave" of the virus is "likely to be deadlier than the first." More.

+Disneyland Paris will close by the end of the day, the company announced Thursday morning. Disneyland Paris will be taking reservations from Dec. 19 – Jan. 3 as the company hopes the park will be open based on prevailing conditions and government guidance at that time. Disneyland Paris will be closed from Jan. 4, 2021 through Feb. 12, 2021. More.

Amazon Keeps Pushing

➤Nicole Kidman has landed another project at Amazon. The prolific actress and producer, who has a first-look deal at the streamer, will star in and executive produce a drama series called Things I Know to Be True for Amazon's Prime Video platform. The show is her third at Amazon, following The Expatriates and Pretty Things. The story.

+The CW is turning Nancy Drew into a franchise. The network is developing a spinoff, Tom Swift, set to air as a backdoor pilot in the drama's forthcoming sophomore season. Based on the book series of the same name, Tom Swift will follow the Black, gay, billionaire inventor who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy after the disappearance of his father. The story.

+Ted Lasso is adding to its winning ways. Apple has handed out an early season three renewal for the Jason Sudeikis soccer comedy from showrunner Bill Lawrence. The pickup arrives as the series is gearing up to return to production in January in London on its second season. More.

In other TV and streaming news...

+Peacock's first big scripted launch is officially a one-and-done. The NBCUniversal-backed streaming platform has canceled Brave New World after one season. Sources say the show's studio arm, Universal Cable Productions, is in the process of shopping the series to find an international window for the sci-fi drama based on Aldous Huxley's novel. It's unclear if landing an international partner will lead to a second season for Brave New World. More.

+CBS is sticking with Big Brother for another season. The network has renewed its reality staple for a 23rd cycle, which is slated to return to its regular summer berth in 2021. Julie Chen Moonves will continue her hosting duties. The pickup comes a few hours ahead of the show's season 22 finale on Wednesday night. More.

+Tiny Toons is returning. Nearly 30 years after wrapping its three-season run, Babs, Buster Bunny and the rest of the Tiny Toons gang are returning with a two-season, straight-to-series order for Tiny Toons Looniversity at both HBO Max and its WarnerMedia sibling Cartoon Network.

--In other news out of WarnerMedia on Wednesday, HBO Max and Cartoon Network added three new projects with best-selling children's book author, illustrator and playwright Mo Willems: Unlimited Squirrels; a CGI animated rock special Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Special; and a pilot order for a live-action immersive series Cat the Cat's Show the Show Show With You the You. The story.

+The Baby-Sitters Club is reconvening at Netflix. The streamer has renewed the series for a second season. The pickup, announced via a video from the cast, comes about 3 1/2 months after its July premiere. More.

+Miramax TV has snagged rights to adapt the nonfiction book Brighter Than a Thousand Suns as a limited series. The studio will develop and produce the project, a chronicle of scientists involved in both the Manhattan Project and the German atomic bomb project. Miramax is producing alongside Berlin-based X-Filme and its Dreifilm subsidiary. More.

+Sony has partnered with Meredith Corporation to take the latter's syndicated strip People (the TV Show) national. The newsmagazine, inspired by and covering the same story as Meredith's People magazine, premiered Sept. 14 on a dozen local stations owned by Meredith. The show has performed well in its first six weeks, ranking as the top new syndicated show of the season in the markets where it airs (which include Atlanta, Phoenix, St. Louis and Las Vegas). More.

➤How unions are pushing Hollywood workers to the polls. The Screen Actors Guild, the Costume Designers Guild, IATSE, the Animation Guild and the Writers Guild of America West are appealing to members who aren't among the over 52 million Americans who have already voted early, Katie Kilkenny reports. The story.

+Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Trump and Biden are irrelevant in this election. In a final plea, the THR columnist urges voters to reject the status quo: "For the first time, an election is not about the content of the candidates’ character, it’s about the content of the voters’ character."

--"I like Joe Biden and I’m going to vote for him. In part, my support is because he’s a decent man who supports progressive policies. I’m also voting for him because he is emblematic of the America I have been fighting for over the last fifty years: one committed to inclusion and equal opportunity." The column.

+Damon Lindelof, Lena Waithe and TV's top producers share election day plans (after voting, of course). "Kissing the ground — or applying for a Canadian visa," says Alex Kurtzman. More.

➤Amal and George Clooney honored virtually at Simon Wiesenthal Center's national tribute dinner. "We have said time and time again 'Never again,' and we mean it, but the truth is we're not very good at it," the Oscar-winning filmmaker said in reference to repeated genocides and atrocities around the world. The story.

➤To own, or not to own? That is the question. When an Amazon Prime Video user buys content on the platform, what they're really paying for is a limited license for “on-demand viewing over an indefinite period of time” and they're warned of that in the company's terms of use. That's the company's argument for why a lawsuit over hypothetical future deletions of content should be dismissed. More.

➤It's the end of an era at WE tv. Marc Juris, the longtime president and general manager at the AMC Networks-owned basic cable network, will leave at year's end. A replacement has not been named and it's unclear if his responsibilities will be distributed to other executives at the larger company. More.

Revolving door: ViacomCBS has named Bryon Rubin COO of the CBS Entertainment Group... CBS is also merging its studio and network business affairs operations, with former Netflix executive Jeeun Kim joining CBS Studios veteran Allison Brightman to head up the combined department... ABC News says it has named Galen Gordon senior vp for talent strategy and development... Soumya Sriraman, who earlier this month announced she would be stepping down as CEO of streamer BritBox, is taking a new job overseeing Amazon's video channels business in the U.S...

➤Musical artist Bebe Rexha will make her feature film debut in Kristen Bell-led Queenpins. Bad Moms and Hustlers studio STXfilms is behind the female-driven comedy, which will also star Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser. More.

+Casting roundup: Demi Moore, Harry Melling and Karl Glusman have joined Andrea Riseborough in the period drama Please Baby Please... Sons of Anarchy star Kim Coates is set to star in and produce the indie psychological thriller Neon Lights... Craig Robinson is returning to Fox. The former Ghosted star has been tapped to host the network's upcoming reality competition series The Masked Dancer... Netflix has set the cast for its latest Harlan Coben adaptation, with Cush Jumbo signing on to topline eight-part drama Stay Close...

In other news...

--Comic-turned-media mogul Byron Allen and his Allen Media Group have acquired MGM's over-the-air broadcast television networks This TV and Light TV.

--The David Oyelowo and Angelina Jolie film Come Away was a victim of "review bombing" on sites like Rotten Tomaoes and IMDb.

--Aiming to help make patrons more comfortable about returning to theaters and other indoor spaces, projector-maker Christie introduced a line of commercial UV disinfection products with patented far-UVC light technology for cinemas, theme parks, museums and other venues.

--Disneyland is in the midst of recalling hundreds of furloughed employees after it was announced that a portion of California Adventure would reopen in November.

--Ron Jeremy was charged with a slew of new sex crimes on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

--Rapper Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, revealed on Wednesday the launch of an interactive live music app in collaboration with screenwriter Ian Edelman and software engineer Jonathan Gray.

What else we're reading...

--"We have learned to live without movie theaters" [Bloomberg]

--"Streaming was part of the future — now it’s the only future" [The Verge]

--"What will happen to the Oscars?" [Vanity Fair]

--"August Wilson's archive acquired by University of Pittsburgh" [LA Times]

--"Tech CEOs square off with Senators over online speech" [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Winona Ryder, 49, Richard Dreyfuss, 73, Gabrielle Union, 48, Tracee Ellis Ross, 48, Dan Castellaneta, 63.