Endemol Shine North America, which produces the nationally syndicated daytime talk show “Steve Harvey,” has signed an overall production deal with Steve Harvey and his East 112th Street Productions shingle, Variety has learned.
Under the new pact, the company and Harvey’s production banner will develop original programming in the unscripted, scripted and digital spaces. East 112th Street Prods. will now be based at Endemol Shine North America’s L.A. office.
“We are thrilled to be extending our relationship with Steve Harvey, arguably the hottest personality in TV right now,” says Cris Abrego and Charlie Corwin, co-chairmen and co-CEOs of Endemol Shine North America. “We’ve enjoyed a great relationship with him on our hit, Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show for several years now and we’re excited to explore new programming opportunities with Steve and his team at East 112th Street across a wide variety of platforms and genres.”
Harvey commented: “I’m truly excited to bring East 112th Street Productions to Endemol Shine, where I’ve enjoyed a great partnership with my talk show over the last four years. Cris, Charlie and the team at Endemol Shine offer us the opportunity to expand our vision for East 112th Street globally and we’re already exploring a number of potential projects together that I can’t wait to see get off the ground.”
East 112th Street Prods. is led by president Gerald Washington and director of development Donna-Marie Reid.
Washington, who also serves as president of The Steve Harvey World Group, added, “Our team has enjoyed a tremendously successful year across TV, radio, print and other platforms and Steve’s brand has never been stronger. We believe our partnership with Endemol Shine is going to take us to the next level.”
In addition to his daytime talker, now in its fourth season, Harvey also hosts “Family Feud” and ABC’s summer game show “Celebrity Family Feud” with both Harvey and Washington serving as executive producers on the latter. On the radio front, Harvey also hosts the “Steve Harvey Morning Show.” Coming up, he will host and executive produce NBC’s kid talent show “Big Little Shots,” along with exec producer Ellen DeGeneres.
article by Elizabeth Wagmeister via Variety.com
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UPDATE: In rush nationals ordered by Fox, “Empire” was revised up to a 6.7 in adults 18-49 and 16.2 million total viewers for its second-season premiere. In the demo, that puts it ahead of its two-hour finale average from March (6.5) and only a bit behind that night’s second hour (6.9).
Fox juggernaut “Empire” showed no signs of slowing down in its sophomore season, returning Wednesday to its second best ratings to date. The network dominated the opening Wednesday of the season overall, with its “Rosewood,” the only series premiere on the night, benefiting from pre-“Empire” tune-in to deliver solid scores.
ABC’s comedy block returned strong, with “The Middle” and “The Goldbergs” on par with last year and “Modern Family” and “Black-ish” a hearty second to “Empire” in the 9 o’clock hour. CBS’ “Survivor” was down a bit but remains potent kicking off its 31st edition.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, “Empire” averaged a huge 6.5 rating/20 share in adults 18-49 and 16.0 million viewers overall — beating the ratings for all but the show’s final episode from last season. Its 9 p.m. episode on finale night in March averaged a 6.9/21 in 18-49 and 17.62 million total viewers (and its two-hour finale night average of 6.5 matched last night’s premiere).
The show had seen its overall audience grow with every episode during its first season, but that amazing streak came to an end on Wednesday.
Compared with last season’s premiere in January, “Empire” on Wednesday was up by 71% in 18-49 (6.5 vs. 3.8) and by 62% in total viewers (16.0 million vs. 9.9 million). This is the biggest improvement from season 1 premiere to season 2 premiere for any scripted series since Fox’s “House” in 2004 and 2005.
And in total viewers, “Empire” also towered over the Wednesday pack. Its 16.0 million was more than 6 million viewers higher than runner-up “Survivor” on CBS (9.6 million).
“Empire” was also a social-media superstar last night, with 1.3 million tweets sent during the episode — making it the most-tweeted one-hour broadcast drama series on record (since Nielsen began tracking about four years ago). Perhaps most impressively, and a true indication of the show’s wide appeal and reach, the tweets generated 63 million impressions.
The most-tweeted minute occurred at 9:30 p.m. with 32,363 tweets after Anika (“Boo Boo Kitty”) was dancing.
Leading off Wednesday for Fox was medical drama “Rosewood” (2.4/9 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall) starring Morris Chestnut. Though it hadn’t generated much buzz leading into the season, it clearly found an opening-night audience. The 2.4 rating in 18-49 makes it the young season’s No. 4-rated series premiere, behind “Blindspot,” “The Muppets” and “Life in Pieces.” It saw a big jump in the second half-hour (2.7 vs. 2.1 at 8 p.m.), a clear sign of pre-“Empire” tune-in.
Elsewhere, ABC had to be pleased with its returning comedy block: “The Middle” (2.1/8 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall), “The Goldbergs” (2.4/8 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall), “Modern Family” (3.1/10 in 18-49, 9.3 million viewers overall) and “Black-ish” (2.4/7 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall). “Middle” and “Goldbergs” were identical to their demo premieres of last year and topped their final nine episodes of last season.
“Modern” and “Black-ish” were down as expected, lower by 18% and 27% respectively from last year’s opening Wednesday when the competition on Fox was considerably softer (“Red Band Society” did a 1.1 in 18-49). The 2.4 for “Black-ish” matches the show’s highest rating to date opposite an episode of “Empire.”
Closing out the night, “Nashville” (1.3/4 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) was within a tenth of its year-ago premiere.
CW aired “America’s Next Top Model” (0.4/2 in 18-49, 1.4 million viewers overall) and the finale of “A Wicked Offer” (0.2/1 in 18-49, 0.5 million viewers overall). “Arrow” and “Supernatural” kick off their seasons on Oct. 7.
article by Rick Kissell via Variety.com
First Lady Michelle Obama is joining forces with Disney’s animated young children’s program about a veterinarian for toys, “Doc McStuffins.” The first lady’s appearance will coincide with Child Health Day as she invites Doc and her friends to the White House.
This special episode of “Doc McStuffins” premieres Monday, October 5 (9:00 a.m., ET/PT). During Doc’s visit, Obama appoints her the official toy doctor of the White House. To see a clip, watch below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB0TPhWtpGk&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB0TPhWtpGk&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” has set comedian Kevin Hart as the guest for its Sept. 28 premiere.
Comedy Central’s flagship series returns next week with South African comedian Noah succeeding Jon Stewart behind the anchor desk. Other guests lined up for premiere week include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, musician Ryan Adams and Whitney Wolfe, founder and CEO of Bumble.
Noah’s debut will add even more heat to the late-night landscape, which has become decidedly more competitive in the past few weeks with Stephen Colbert’s launch on CBS.
Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz, Tim Greenberg, Jill Katz and Adam Lowitt are executive producers of “Daily Show.” Chuck O’Neil, who just earned an Emmy for his work on Stewart’s final season, returns as director.
article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com
Comedy Central’s flagship series returns next week with South African comedian Noah succeeding Jon Stewart behind the anchor desk. Other guests lined up for premiere week include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, musician Ryan Adams and Whitney Wolfe, founder and CEO of Bumble.
Noah’s debut will add even more heat to the late-night landscape, which has become decidedly more competitive in the past few weeks with Stephen Colbert’s launch on CBS.
Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz, Tim Greenberg, Jill Katz and Adam Lowitt are executive producers of “Daily Show.” Chuck O’Neil, who just earned an Emmy for his work on Stewart’s final season, returns as director.
article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com
ABC has bought a Baghdad-set military drama project from “Grey’s Anatomy” veteran Zoanne Clack and Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland production company.
The untitled show is set circa 2004 among an U.S. Army Medevac team who work out of a base camp in the Iraqi capital. The series revolves around team members who “get on each other’s nerves, sleep with the wrong people, navigate ‘office’ politics and party like there’s no tomorrow.”
Clack is writing the script for ABC Studios and Shondaland. Clack, Rhimes and Shondaland’s Betsy Beers are exec producing for ABC Studios, where Shondaland is based.
Clack has worked her way up the ranks at “Grey’s Anatomy” since that show’s inception, rising from story editor to executive producer. She’s repped by CAA and manager Alan Rautbort at Circle of Confusion.
Shondaland has two comedy projects and another drama in the development pipeline this year at ABC.
article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com
The untitled show is set circa 2004 among an U.S. Army Medevac team who work out of a base camp in the Iraqi capital. The series revolves around team members who “get on each other’s nerves, sleep with the wrong people, navigate ‘office’ politics and party like there’s no tomorrow.”
Clack is writing the script for ABC Studios and Shondaland. Clack, Rhimes and Shondaland’s Betsy Beers are exec producing for ABC Studios, where Shondaland is based.
Clack has worked her way up the ranks at “Grey’s Anatomy” since that show’s inception, rising from story editor to executive producer. She’s repped by CAA and manager Alan Rautbort at Circle of Confusion.
Shondaland has two comedy projects and another drama in the development pipeline this year at ABC.
article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com
On April 17, 1990, A Tribe Called Quest released their debut album, Peoples’ Instinctive Travels And The Paths of Rhythm and one of Hip-Hop’s most beloved groups began one of the culture’s most revered journeys. The group would go on to release several albums heralded as classics, including The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders, but it would be their debut album that helped cement an impending shift in Hip-Hop, led by the Native Tongues collective of The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Queen Latifah and Tribe.
Twenty-five years later, the foursome of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhamad and Jarobi, along with Sony Legacy, have announced a special silver anniversary edition of ATCQ’s debut album, which will be released on November 13. A statement from the group reveals that the album will be remastered from the original tapes by Grammy-Award winning engineer Bob Power. Power is the legendary engineer whose handiwork can be heard on albums by ATCQ, De La Soul, The Roots, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Common and many more.
The 25th anniversary edition of Peoples’ Instinctive Travels And The Paths of Rhythm also will feature exclusive new remixes by some of today’s biggest hip-hop artists who have been influenced by Tribe over the years. According to the statement, details about the remixes will be revealed over the next few weeks, and this album’s re-release will be the first among a series of re-issues of ATCQ’s classic albums.
In speaking about the debut album, Q-Tip said “I had this album in my head for years before I did it. Looking at it overall, to see the thoughts of a 16 year old gain any kind of acknowledgement makes me feel like I have arrived… But to see it in this incarnation … I’m humbled.” Fellow group member Ali Shaheed Muhammad also added, “This album means a lot. It was the beginning of our careers; the beginning of our imprint; the beginning of seeing life the way we saw it, and being able to put it down in words and music.”
Here’s a look at a brief trailer for the forthcoming special edition LP.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkOKh7nZGCg&w=560&h=315]
article by Parfit via ambrosiaforheads.com
The Apollo Theater in Harlem will induct famed comedians Richard Pryor, Moms Mabley and Redd Foxx into its Walk of Fame.
The ceremony, to take place on Oct. 1, will mark the first time that non-musical artists will be inducted. All three had long-standing relationships with the venue. The historic theater also is launching a new comedy series on the same night. The Apollo Comedy Club will feature emerging comics.
Its fall and winter season also includes the return of the international hip-hop dance festival Breakin’ Convention that will feature French dance duo Les Twins.
Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2015/09/richard-pryor-moms-mabley-redd-foxx-headed-to-apollos-walk-of-fame/#ZpJgecujOC5oZrfe.99
Ta-Nehisi Coates can be identified in many ways: as a national correspondent for The Atlantic, as an author and, as of this month, as a nominee for the National Book Award’s nonfiction prize. But Mr. Coates also has a not-so-secret identity, as evidenced by some of his Atlantic blog posts and his Twitter feed: Marvel Comics superfan.
So it seems only natural that Marvel has asked Mr. Coates to take on a new Black Panther series set to begin next spring. Writing for that comics publisher is a childhood dream that, despite the seeming incongruity, came about thanks to his day job. “The Atlantic is a pretty diverse place in terms of interest, but there are no comics nerds,” besides himself, Mr. Coates said in an interview.
His passions intersected in May, during the magazine’s New York Ideas seminar, when he interviewed Sana Amanat, a Marvel editor, about diversity and inclusion in comic books. Ms. Amanat led the creation of the new Ms. Marvel, a teenage Muslim girl living in Jersey City, based on some of her own childhood experiences.
“It was a fruitful discussion,” he recalled.
After that event, Marvel reached out, paired Mr. Coates with an editor, and discussions about the comic began. The renewed focus on Black Panther is no surprise. Created in 1966, he is the first black superhero and hails from Wakanda, a fictional African country.
“He has the baddest costume in comics and is a dude who is smarter and better than everyone,” said Axel Alonso, the editor in chief of Marvel. The character not only adds to the diversity of Marvel’s comics; he will do it for their films too: Black Panther is set to make his big-screen debut next year in “Captain America: Civil War,” followed by a solo feature in 2018.
Zendaya Coleman, the nineteen year-old star of Disney series “KC Undercover”, singer and former finalist on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” will now, according to Billboard.com, be immortalized as a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll. Manufacturing company Mattel announced on Twitter that Barbie will commemorate Zendaya’s elegance and poise from the iconic 2015 Oscars moment when she responded to critics about her dreadlocks.
So excited to honor @Zendaya with a one-of-a-kind doll as she encourages girls to Raise Their Voices and to #BeSuper! pic.twitter.com/GEtTR9bayC
— Barbie (@Barbie) September 18, 2015
During a recent visit to the Mattel offices, Zendaya discussed her relationship with Barbie growing up:
“When I was little, I didn’t have one that looked like me, so I couldn’t connect with her in that way. But getting to visit the Mattel offices and see Barbie’s vision for the future…I was able to see how they plan to diversify, broadening the horizons and the image of Barbie, and make it more, you know, open. I left the office feeling it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of.”
Z will host an upcoming VH1’s Save The Music benefit entitled “Barbie Rock ‘N Royals Concert Experience” on Sept. 26 in Los Angeles, during which the doll will be on display.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
Ernie Hudson, one of the original Ghostbusters, has materialized in the cast of Sony’s bid to reboot the franchise. Hudson joins original scream teammates Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in writer/director Paul Feig’s update that stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth and Neil Casey.
Hudson is the latest original cast member to surface in the reboot scripted by Feig and Kate Dippold. The movie is currently slated to open next summer on July 15, 2016.
article via deadline.com