Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Because I doubt even Netflix saw this coming. “Suits,” which starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht and Gina Torres as lawyers who filed suits while wearing stylish suits, was always a solid player for USA.
09.08.2023 - 00:09 / variety.com
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Conners” is making its way to off-net syndication, as Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment has stuck a deal with both Lionsgate Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury to distribute the sitcom’s first five seasons (and future seasons as well). “The Conners” will be sold for a fall 2024 launch in domestic syndication.
Under the deal, Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group will oversee international distribution, including SVOD, AVOD, basic cable and FAST rights, while Debmar-Mercury (which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lionsgate) will handle domestic syndication. “The Conners,” which launched in 2018 as the successor series to “Roseanne” (which had been revived for a season, but then canceled following offensive remarks star Roseanne Barr made on social media), was recently renewed for a sixth season on ABC.
The show is ABC’s most-watched comedy, and has already hit 93 episodes — making it a rare new sitcom entrant in the off-network syndication world. “We’re proud to be selected by a great force in television like Tom Werner and Werner Entertainment to bring this incredible property to buyers around the world,” said Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s president of worldwide television distribution.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Because I doubt even Netflix saw this coming. “Suits,” which starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht and Gina Torres as lawyers who filed suits while wearing stylish suits, was always a solid player for USA.
Ariana Madix has slammed Bethenny Frankel for her recent interview with Rachel Leviss.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Mary Lou Belli knows she’s the longshot to win the Emmy for outstanding comedy director, and that’s fine with her. After all, she’s up against some marquee names, including Tim Burton (“Wednesday”), Bill Hader (“Barry”) and Amy Sherman-Palladino (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).
Sophia Scorziello editor Los Angeles-based pubcaster KCET has revealed its student finalists and episode line up for the 24th season of Fine Cut Festival of Films, an annual showcase and celebration of Southern California’s young filmmakers. The series of six, one-hour blocks on KCET will broadcast collections of short films from the student finalists beginning at 10 p.m. PT on Sept.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer and Oscar-winning director/producer Barbara Kopple are this year’s recipients of the 44th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards lifetime achievement honors, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was set to announce on Tuesday. The News & Doc Emmys take place over two days next month in New York: Blitzer will receive his honor at the news ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 27, and Kopple’s Emmy will be presented at the documentary ceremony on Thursday, September 28.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Leah Remini-hosted Game Show Network series “People Puzzler” is set for off-network syndication on stations this fall. The gamer has now been cleared by Lionsgate-owned syndication distributor Debmar-Mercury in more than 90% of the country, including Fox-owned stations in the three top markets: WWOR New York, KCOP Los Angeles and WFLD Chicago.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large For those of us who write about the industry, it’s been a bit of a challenge finding ways to still cover the Emmy Awards, especially as Phase 2 voting got underway on Aug. 17. My colleague Emily Longeretta, who oversees our special Emmy extra editions, has gotten creative in turning some of our podcast interviews into stories, for example, and relying on other approaches to covering nominated shows and talent.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large KABC-TV chief meteorologist Dallas Raines has been at ABC’s flagship Los Angeles station since 1984, so you’d think he’s seen everything he could ever see when it comes to Southern California weather. But Hurricane Hilary is a first, even for him, and he’s ready for it. “It’s really a crazy situation,” he tells Variety.
mockumentary comedy “Underdeveloped,” premiering Sept. 8 on free streamer Tubi.He is also a member of both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, both of which remain on strike.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Mark Mylod is still kicking himself over something in Season 4 of “Succession.” The series’ final installment has been universally lauded, and the general consensus is that the HBO drama stuck the landing. But for Mylod, the executive producer/director who is once again Emmy nominated, he can’t stop thinking about something — and he won’t reveal what it is just yet. “I will do the kicking myself thing.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large One of my favorite categories this year, however, is lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie. And here’s the top reason: This is the only acting category this year that features not a single previous Emmy winner among its nominees. As a matter of fact, half of them have never been nominated at all.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Jo Koy is extending his relationship with Netflix, signing a deal to bring his next two stand-up comedy specials to the streamer. The specials will mark Koy’s fifth and sixth with Netflix; first up, the next one will tape at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on November 10 and 11, with an expected 2024 premiere. Art & Industry is producing that special.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Making “Daisy Jones & the Six” was more than just another show for Scott Neustadter and Lauren Neustadter: It was a family affair. Scott and his writing partner, Michael Weber (both Oscar nominated via their screenplay for the film “The Disaster Artist”), received an early copy of the “Daisy Jones” manuscript, written by author Taylor Jenkins Reid, before it even found a publisher. Neustadter, a music junkie, immediately fell in love with the script, and knew the perfect home for it: Reese Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine — where his wife, Lauren, had just joined as president of film and television.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Perhaps it’s coincidence, or serendipity, but two of the best-reviewed shows on television happened to both return at the same time with new seasons last week — and both put Native storytelling and Indigenous characters front and center. FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and AMC’s “Dark Winds” have a few things in common — starting, of course, with Zahn McClarnon, who stars as Navajo tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn in “Dark Winds” and recurs as Officer Big in “Reservation Dogs.” And both also share acclaim from viewers and critics: “Reservation Dogs” sports a 99% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ reviews aggregator, while “Dark Winds” boasts a remarkable 100% ranking.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In a previous column I made a strong case for moving the ceremony to November, when at least the Emmys wouldn’t feel too stale or crash into Oscars season. But since Fox is moving forward with January, the silver lining is that there’s a lot more time — five months, as a matter of fact — for producer Jesse Collins Entertainment, along with Fox and the TV Academy, to figure out how to make this major Emmy anniversary a show to remember. Much of that will come down to who hosts the telecast.
For just about every decade that there has been a sitcom on television, it’s always been easy to identify those stars who shine bright as the current face of comedy. In the ’50s, it was Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball. In the ’60s, it was Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith. The ’70s brought us Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore and Bea Arthur, followed by Sherman Hemsley, Bill Cosby and Michael J. Fox in the ’80s, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr and the cast of Friends in the ’90s, Charlie Sheen and Bernie Mac in the early aughts and Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jim Parsons in 2006 and beyond.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Keeping that in mind, there I was once again backstage last year in the press room when I realized that no one else was going to ask a similar question to the “Ted Lasso” cast and producers. Having won back-to-back Emmys for outstanding comedy, “Ted Lasso” was on a roll. And yet, there were already signals that “Ted Lasso” might wrap after a third and final season.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Emmys officially have a new date: Fox and the Television Academy were set to announce this morning that the 75th Emmy Awards will shift to Monday, January 15, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In what may be one of the most powerful and stirring episodes of the entire run of FX’s “Reservation Dogs,” the series this week took on the horror of assimilation “Indian boarding schools” — and attempt by the government in the 19th and 20th centuries to erase Native culture from the country. It’s another dark chapter that is well known by most people with Indigenous heritage, but something that most non-Natives have either never heard about, or only have a passing knowledge of it. For “Reservation Dogs” co-creator Sterlin Harjo, there was a responsibility to tell the story right.
Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment, the production company behind ABC’s popular comedy series The Conners, has signed a global licensing deal with Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury.