‘The Thing About Pam’ Premiere Ratings Jump Nearly 400% With a Week of Delayed Viewing (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarner Bros. Discovery is not going with the “initial wordmark” revealed last June as its official logo.Variety has obtained a low-res copy of a new logo that is being circulated on internal memos at Discovery and WarnerMedia Friday, ahead of the expected close of the merger transaction later today.Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment on the Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Melrose Place” co-stars Daphne Zuniga and Grant Show will be reunited when Zuniga guest stars on an upcoming episode of the CW network’s “Dynasty,” Variety has learned exclusively.Zuniga is set to play Sonya Jackson, a woman from Blake’s (Show) past who comes in and stirs things up for the Carringtons. The episode of “Dynasty,” titled “A Friendly Kiss Between Friends,” will air Friday, April 29, at 9 p.m.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterChip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network will move under HBO’s purview upon the completion of Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, which will result in the launch of Warner Bros. Discovery Monday, Variety has learned exclusively.Allison Page, president of Magnolia, which is a joint venture between the Gaineses and Discovery, Inc., will report directly to HBO and HBO Max chief Casey Bloys.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDigital-native media platform FaZe Clan is breaking into traditional TV formats with a three-year plan for both unscripted and scripted content, including a “Saturday Night Live”-style series for the Gen Z audience that will launch on livestream service Twitch in June, Variety has learned exclusively.Titled “unFaZed,” FaZe Clan describes the weekly show as “the first-ever variety franchise born out of internet culture,” that will feature a recurring ensemble cast of internet celebrities and be hosted by rotating special guests from that same world, while also regularly bringing in celebrities from the TV, film, music and sports industries.“unFaZed” is one of two inaugural formatted series set at the esports and online entertainment giant, a media platform that is rooted in gaming and youth culture and boasts a combined social following of over 500 million. The second show is the previously announced “Big Brother”-esque “FaZe1: The Warehouse,” a competition series that will livestream 24 hours a day for 15 days straight, which will debut on FaZe Clan’s Twitch channel May 5.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Bridgerton” Season 2 has broken the record for most-viewed show in a week among Netflix’s English TV series, per the streaming service’s newly released weekly Top 10 list.While “Squid Game” still holds the overall record for most-viewed show on Netflix in general across a 7-day period with 571.76 million hours viewed, the second season of “Bridgerton” racked up 251.74 million hours viewed for the week of March 28-April 3, its first full week on the streaming service.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Discovery-WarnerMedia merger could close as early as Friday, Variety has learned exclusively.Previously, insiders said the transaction between Discovery and WarnerMedia’s current owner AT&T would be formally completed on April 11. On Tuesday, amid WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar formally announcing his exit timed to the rapidly approaching close of the formation of Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThis is peak synergy: “Call Me Kat” is crossing over with fellow Fox comedy “Welcome to Flatch” in an upcoming episode of the series that will also feature “The Masked Singer” panelist Robin Thicke, Variety has learned exclusively.Airing April 28 at 9 p.m., the Mayim Bialik-led sitcom will feature characters from its lead-out mockumentary show “Welcome to Flatch,” which debuted March 17 on Fox at 9:30 p.m. and that same day launched half of its first season of Hulu and other digital platforms.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterABC wasn’t the only network to see a ratings boost for this year’s Oscars. E! more than doubled linear viewership for its post-show and more than quadrupled cross-platform audience engagement with its Oscars coverage, largely driven by interest in Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the ceremony, Variety has learned exclusively.Led by new “Live From E!” host Laverne Cox, who replaced longtime E! vet Giuliana Rancic after she hosted last season solo following many years paired with Ryan Seacrest, E!’s Oscars red carpet coverage was up 25% from last year.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Bridgerton” Season 2 was viewed for 193 million hours over its debut weekend, per Netflix’s newly released Top 10 rankings for the week of March 21-27. That impressive three-day viewership is a record-breaker, as “Bridgerton” Season 2 is now the most-watched Netflix English-language TV title in its premiere weekend in the streamer’s history.Naturally, the second season of “Bridgerton” landed in the No.

Ripped from the headlines! True crime isn’t only a podcast phenomenon — many chilling stories have also been brought to life on the small screen.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC’s “American Song Contest” series premiere was topped by a new episode of ABC’s “American Idol” Monday, according to early Nielsen data.The two-hour debut of NBC’s U.S. adaptation of the European mega hit “Eurovision Song Contest” averaged a 0.5 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.892 million viewers while airing live from 8-10 p.m., per Nielsen’s fast-affiliate ratings. Meanwhile, “Idol” averaged a 0.7 key demo rating and 5.1465 million viewers during that same window.“American Song Contest” is a live show for the East Coast, but airs tape delayed for the West Coast.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“American Song Contest” has revealed its detailed online and TikTok voting procedures and the 56 members of its expert jury panel, including Isaac Slade, Matt Pinfield and Jose Tillan, ahead of the U.S. adaptation of “Eurovision’s” big two-hour debut Monday on NBC, Variety has learned exclusively.Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, the all-live “American Song Contest” will feature 56 artists representing the 50 states, five U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix’s “Inventing Anna” jumped to No. 1 on Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings in its second week after launching on Netflix, almost tripling its audience to 3.3 billion minutes watched during the week of Feb.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“The Adam Project” and “Pieces of Her” topped Netflix’s lists of English-language film and TV series for the week of March 7, when the fifth and final season of “The Last Kingdom” was viewed for 63.5 million hours in its first five days after launch.Debuting March 11, the Ryan Reynolds-led flick drew 92.43 million hours viewed in just its first two days on the platform. Meanwhile, “Pieces of Her,” which premiered Season 1 March 4, was the No.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSean Astin is joining Dwayne Johnson’s “Young Rock” Season 2 in the role of The Rock’s childhood nemesis, Variety has learned exclusively.A recurring guest star for the NBC comedy’s upcoming second season, Astin will play Dr. Julian Echo in the show’s fast-forwards.

Diane Garrett Morally compromised women seem to be everywhere on the small screen, as performers dig into juicy roles full of questionable behavior on the part of real-life characters. Says Jenny Klein, showrunner of NBC’s “The Thing About Pam”: “One of the core questions of the show is, how could something like this happen?” The same might be said about the misdeeds of each of these shady ladies.Anna DelveyPortrayed by: Julia GarnerShow: “Inventing Anna,” a Netflix series from Shonda Rhimes that debuted Feb.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDwayne Johnson’s autobiographical NBC comedy “Young Rock” has cast “Ballers” actor Arlyn Broche as a very personal character in The Rock’s life: Dany Garcia, his college sweetheart-turned-ex-wife-and-business-partner, Variety has learned exclusively.Per the official description for the character, who will be a recurring guest star on the upcoming second season of “Young Rock,” Dany is compassionate and caring while also being a disciplined athlete and future CEO. She starts as Dwayne’s college sweetheart at Miami, but soon becomes a guiding force in his life as he contemplates embracing the grind of professional wrestling.Broche is best known for her breakout role as Tonya on Season 2 of HBO’s “Ballers,” starring alongside Johnson and Andy Garcia on the show, which was produced by Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks banner.

Michael Appler Renée Zellweger and showrunner Jenny Klein gathered on Monday at the chic Whitby Hotel in New York City to fete the release of their NBC series “The Thing About Pam.”In “The Thing About Pam,” a limited series based on the viral “Dateline” episode and true crime podcast of the same name, Zellweger plays Pam Hupp, a sadistic, yet unassuming Missouri woman who was charged with the murder of her best friend Betsy after framing Betsy’s husband. But the real Hupp looks nothing like the two-time Oscar winner.

ABC’s The Bachelor and CBS’ FBI were the standouts for Tuesday primetime, which also featured season finales and a series premiere for NBC.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterIMDb TV is keeping Judge Judy Sheindlin in session. Amazon’s free streamer has renewed “Judy Justice” for a second season after the first batch of episodes drew 25 million hours viewed by users to date.Sheindlin’s second act after the end of the long-running, iconic daytime series “Judge Judy,” “Judy Justice” launched on IMDb TV last November.