‘Gangs Of Lagos’ Creator Jáde Osiberu Inks Overall Deal With Prime Video

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has re-upped its overall deal with international bestselling author Harlan Coben. The original five-year, multimillion-dollar pact gave Netflix access to 14 Coben books to develop, in partnership with the author, into English-language and foreign-language series as well as films. The new deal, believed to be for four years, adds 12 more Coben titles including his signature 11-book Myron Bolitar series as well as 2021’s Win.

Click here to watch the teaser)Starring Deborah Ayorinde and Sarah Niles, “Riches” follows the exploits of the stylish, privileged, super-successful Richards family. When Stephen Richards (Hugh Quarshie) passes suddenly, the family’s world comes crashing down.

Amber Dowling Amazon’s Prime Video is bringing the story of Canada’s most famous children’s entertainer to the world. The streamer has confirmed the start of production on an untitled “Mr. Dressup” documentary, based on the life and career of Ernie Coombs. The doc will celebrate the origins and history of the children’s show and its legacy of valuable lessons. In addition to including insights into the relationship with Rogers, the project uses unseen archival footage, interviews with series puppeteers and musicians, the Coombs family, and other notable Canadians who discuss the impact the series had on them. Rob McCallum (“Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”) directs and co-writes with Jordan Morris (“Nintendo Quest”).

Selome Hailu Hannah Gadsby has entered a multi-title deal at Netflix, under which they will tape their a new stand-up special for the streamer, in addition to hosting and producing another multi-comic special featuring gender-diverse comedians. Gadsby’s new hour-long special will premiere in 2023 and comes from the Australian leg of their most recently world tour, titled “Body of Work.” Taped at the Sydney Opera House with assistance from the Sydney Opera House trust, it will be Gadsby’s third piece of stand-up comedy for Netflix, following on the specials “Nanette” — which became a phenomenon in 2018 — and “Douglas” from 2020. The multi-comic special will be taped next year, with premiere timing yet to be announced. Along with spotlighting performers of various gender identities, the cast will also be chosen from several countries.

Hannah Gadsby is returning to the Netflix fold – nearly twelve months after slamming Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and calling the streamer an “amoral algorithm cult”.

Steven A. Sund, the former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, has inked a book deal with Blackstone Publishing, promising to reveal new details about the infamous day.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Giorgia Meloni is poised to become the next prime minister of Italy. With her victory will come the country’s most far-right government since Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party ruled during World War II. If exit polls are correct, Meloni will become the first female prime minister of Italy. Her Brothers of Italy party is projected to win between 22% to 26% of the vote, which would allow her to outflank Enrico Letta, the centre left politician who is her nearest rival. Brothers of Italy are expected to form a coalition government with Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Final results are expected on Monday morning.

September Mornings” and New York Post readers. If you’re here, chances are you are already hooked on the Brazilian television drama that premiered on Amazon Prime Video back in June 2021. Well, great news! The newest season of “Manhãs de Setembro” is back, streaming on Amazon Prime Video on September 23.

Amazon’s Hail Mary play to bring the NFL to streaming looks like a touchdown in Week 1.

“While we’re still waiting for official Nielsen ratings, our measurement shows that the audience numbers exceeded all of our expectations for viewership,” Prime Video’s top sports exec Jay Marine said today in a note to staff on the “resounding success” of the streamer’s official Thursday Night Football kickoff on September 15.

EXCLUSIVE: Christmas has come early for Hallmark Media: Alison Sweeney (The Wedding Veil trilogy) has agreed to a multi-picture overall deal with the channel.

K.J. Yossman Jáde Osiberu, creator of upcoming Amazon Original movie “Gangs of Lagos,” has inked an overall deal with the streamer. The three-year deal will include original scripted dramas and features from Osiberu’s production company Greoh Studios. Osiberu, who is the creator of hit projects including “Sugar Rush,” “Isoken” and “Gidi Up,” follows others creators including Steve McQueen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Jenny Han in signing similar international agreements. “I am overjoyed with this collaboration and already feel like I’m part of the Prime Video and Amazon Studios family,” said Osiberu. “It will be an absolute pleasure to introduce Prime Video audiences to the most exciting talent and storylines Nigeria has to offer, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help elevate Nigerian stories on a global scale.”

Manori Ravindran International Editor Corus Entertainment has struck an overall deal with U.K.-Canadian production company Dominion of Drama, and appointed its founder Jeff Norton as the head of its new imprint, Waterside Studios. Waterside Studios is positioned as a new IP and production venture focused on premium scripted Canadian content for youth and primetime audiences. The outfit will cater to the Canadian as well as international marketplace. Norton most recently served as a consultant for Corus, and previously as executive producer of “Trucktown” for production company Nelvana. He also co-wrote the novel “Keeping the Beat,” which was one of the launch titles for Kids Can Press’ young adult KCP Loft imprint.

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Harrison, executive producer and co-showrunner of The Crossover, has signed an overall deal with 20th Television, the studio behind the upcoming basketball drama series for Disney+.

EXCLUSIVE: Saeed Crumpler is getting into business with Sony Pictures Television. The rapper-turned-screenwriter has signed a multi-year overall deal to develop new projects for the studio.

EXCLUSIVE: Justine Juel Gillmer, exec producer of Amazon’s big-budget series The Wheel of Time, has scored a studio home.

Since the mid-1980s, William Gibson has set a precedent for heady SF novels, with “Neuromancer” and its “Sprawl” trilogy being the ur-texts of cyberpunk. So, how have William Gibson‘s novels never crossed over to movies and TV? Maybe because Gibson’s speculative fiction is too hard to translate to a broad appeal.

Qurate Retail Group, the John Malone-backed owner of video screen shopping mainstays QVC and HSN, has installed former Amazon exec Soumya Sriraman as president of streaming.

Amazon Prime Video quietly introduced a new 72-hour delay for all user reviews posted to Prime Video, a representative for the streamer confirmed to Variety. Each critique is then evaluated to determine whether it’s genuine or a forgery created by a bot, troll or other breed of digital goblin. The practice caught notice after the premiere of the first two episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” Prime Video’s monumentally scaled fantasy series based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The series appears to have been review bombed — when trolls flood intentionally negative reviews for a show or film — on other sites like Rotten Tomatoes, where it has an 84% rating from professional critics but a 37% from user-submitted reviews. “The Rings of Power” has been fending off trolls for months, especially ones who take issue with the decision to cast actors of color as elves, dwarves, harfoots and other folk of Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth.