Shawna Thomas Will Lead ‘CBS This Morning’ as New Executive Producer

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS has set in motion “an external investigation” into allegations of racist and misogynist behavior by senior executives at its local-TV unit, a sign that the ViacomCBS company continues to grapple with these issues even though it has probed them in the recent past.In a memo sent to staffers Friday, George Cheeks, CEO of CBS Entertainment Group, said the company had hired Keisha-Ann Gray, an attorney from the law firm Proskauer Rose, to examine recent

Naman Ramachandran Industry executive Julien Leroux has launched London-based outfit Paper Entertainment, a London-based company focused on development, finance and production.Paper Entertainment is on board as a co-producer on the recently announced second season of Apple TV Plus hit series “Tehran.” Leroux served as an executive producer on season 1, and struck the co-production deal with Apple, which was announced in June.Paper Entertainment has several other projects in development, which

Ava DuVernay has boarded Oscar contender A Concerto Is A Conversation as executive producer. Co-directed by  Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers and Emmy-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot, the 13-minute short subject documentary follows Bowers as he tracks his family’s lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather Horace Bowers from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Keke Palmer has been tapped as host of Disney+’s upcoming unscripted build competition series Foodtastic. Palmer also will executive produce the series in which contestants are challenged to create Disney-inspired works of art made out of food. NYC’s City Cakes founder Chef Benny Rivera and Flour Shop founder Amirah Kassem will serve as judges for Foodtastic. The 11-episode series started production this week and is slated to premiere on Disney+ later this year.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Keke Palmer is inviting you to be her guest… and she’s putting your service to the test!Disney Plus has tapped superstar Palmer to host “Foodtastic,” an unscripted build competition series where teams are challenged to cook and bake Disney-inspired works of culinary art.The quadruple threat — acting, singing, daytime talk show hosting and activism— can also now add a fifth accomplishment to her résumé: executive producing.

Angelique Jackson Ava DuVernay is reuniting with “When They See Us” composer Kris Bowers for the documentary short “A Concerto Is a Conversation.”DuVernay will executive produce the film, which was co-directed and produced by Bowers and Ben Proudfoot. “A Concerto Is a Conversation” was selected to premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which has shifted to a virtual model amid the ongoing pandemic.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEven in tough times, advertisers still want a Super Bowl.CBS is “virtually sold out” of all its commercial inventory for Super Bowl LIV, according to a spokesperson for parent company ViacomCBS, a sign that Madison Avenue remains interested in the Big Game despite some of the rockier economic conditions surrounding it.The network has been seeking around $5.5M for a 30 second in-game spot and has been grappling with decisions by some stalwart sponsors to bench

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has acquired Indian director Chaitanya Tamhane’s Venice and Toronto winner “The Disciple,” executive produced by Alfonso Cuaron, and will release it exclusively on the platform.The Marathi-language film follows a singer who devotes his life to becoming an Indian classical music vocalist, diligently following the traditions and discipline of the old masters, his guru and his father.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO is developing the third season of the hit podcast “Serial” as a limited series, with LeBron James onboard the project as an executive producer.The potential series will examine the criminal justice system at work in Cleveland, Ohio.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTwo of CBS’s two top local-TV executives were placed on administrative leave Monday night after the Los Angeles Times raised issues about their conduct over the weekend in a two-part report that examined their treatment of people of color at specific TV stations, among other allegations.Peter Dunn, president of the CBS Television Stations, and David Friend, senior vice president of news for the stations were placed on the leave “pending the results of a

Italian film producer Alberto Grimaldi, whose credits include The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Gangs of New York, has died. He was 95.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs NBC News’ newly minted chief White House correspondents, Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander have the sort of job that rarely ends neatly for the week on Friday at 5 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIn the world of advertising, bigger is often better, but sometimes the smallest things can carry a powerful punch.Netflix Korea has been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as having devised the smallest magazine print ad ever, a 1.712 centimeter by 2.429 centimeter advertisement for the finale of “Busted” that it hopes will get both fans of the series and the actors who play its characters talking about the achievement, The ad appeared in last week’s

McG has officially signed up to direct the pilot episode of Turner & Hooch, Disney+’s reboot of the classic 1989 buddy-cop comedy feature. The TV series, which has a 12-episode order, comes from Matt Nix and 20th TV. McG also will serve as an executive producer on the series, which is now in production.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorABC News named Cecilia Vega and Jonathan Karl to new senior roles in its Washington operations, naming Vega the Disney news unit’s chief White House correspondent and Karl its chief Washington correspondent, as well as a co-anchor of the Sunday public-affairs program “This Week.”In a memo to staffers Tuesday, ABC News President James Goldston also named Mary Bruce a senior White House correspondent and MaryAlice Parks a weekend White House correspondent.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNancy Cordes has been the indefatigable Capitol Hill beat reporter at CBS News for more than a decade. Now she will start a new role for the ViacomCBS news unit – at the White House.CBS News named Cordes its chief White House correspondent, part of a reshuffling of news resources that usually takes place around the industry whenever a new occupant takes over the Oval Office.

Janice Johnston has been promoted to executive producer of ABC’s newsmagazine 20/20.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPutting professional football on kids-TV outlet Nickelodeon might at first blush seem like something of a Hail Mary. But CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus knew his team had completed a crucial pass by game’s end, when the winning team’s head coach, Sean Payton, agreed to be doused with Nick’s signature green slime.CBS Sports said Tuesday that the Nickelodeon broadcast, part of a wide series of interesting experiments with NFL football this past weekend, scored.