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Posts tagged as “Fox”

Keegan-Michael Key & Jordan Peele Set Fox Comedy With Vine Star King Bach

By goodblacknews on October 13, 2015

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Key & Peele (photo via Getty Images)

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Andrew Bachelor aka King Bach (photo via deadline.com)

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have set up a followup TV series project to their hit Comedy Central sketch show Key & Peele — a single-camera undercover cop comedy starring top Vine personality Andrew Bachelor aka King Bach. Key and Peele are executive producing the project which, in a competitive situation, has landed at Fox.

Written by Key & Peele writer-producer Alex Rubens, the untitled comedy is loosely based on a King Bach Vine and stars Bachelor as an undercover cop who grew up on the streets and goes back to his old neighborhood to take down the bad guys who bullied him when they were kids. Rubens, Key and Peele executive produce.

As his exuberant alter ego King Bach, Bachelor has become Vine’s biggest star, boasting 14 million followers and 5.1 billion loops. The Groundlings alum has parlayed his Vine success into a rising acting career with recurring roles on The Mindy Project, House Of Lies and Black Jesus. He also appeared on Key & Peele. 
This is Key and Peele’s first TV series project since they recently ended their successful Comedy Central sketch comedy series Key & Peele, which the duo created, executive produced and starred in. The series, which ran for 5 seasons, has garnered 9 Emmy nominations, including best sketch variety comedy series and best supporting actor in a comedy series, Key, this year. Peele, Key and Rubens have shared two Emmy nominations in the writing for variety series category.
Key, Peele and Rubens recently worked together on the upcoming New Line feature Keanu, which Key and Peele produce and star in and Peele and Rubens wrote. Key and Peele also have been developing a new installment of thePolice Academy franchise at New Line, a feature based on their popular Substitute Teacher skits at Paramount with Rubens co-writing, and a comedy with Judd Apatow at Universal. Individually, Peele is set to write and direct Blumhouse’s horror film Get Out, while Key stars in Mike Birbiglia’s latest movie Don’t Think Twice and is part of the voice cast of The Angry Birds Movie.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com

 

Gina Prince-Bythewood and Sanaa Lathan Reunite for Racially-Charged Police Shooting TV Project at Fox

By goodblacknews on October 6, 2015
Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa Lathan (PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX)

Fox is developing a new event series revolving around a racially-motivated police shooting.  The project hails from “Love & Basketball” writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood and will star Sanaa Lathan, who starred in the 2000 film.
The untitled event series examines the dangerous aftermath of a police shooting when an African-American cop kills a white teen in Tennessee. Lathan (“The Perfect Guy”) will play an expert investigator who digs into the case, alongside a yet-to-be-cast special prosecutor sent to the town by the Department of Justice. The duo must navigate the media attention, public debate and social unrest that accompany such a volatile case, as they seek justice before the divided town erupts into a race war.
The announcement of the project comes amidst of an uproar of recent media attention on racially-motivated police attacks, most notably the Trayvon Martin case, in which the African American teenager was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. The Fox project, however, features a race-flipped scenario with a white teen being killed by a black cop.
Prince-Bythewood, along with Reggie Rock Bythewood, will serve as writers and exec producers on the 20th Century Fox project, which will be directed by Prince-Bythewood. Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo will also exec produce. Prince-Bythewood’s Undisputed Cinema and Imagine Television will also produce.
The event series reunites Lathan and Gina Prince-Bythewood, who worked together “Love & Basketball.” Prince-Bythewood and Bythewood also worked together on “Beyond the Lights.”
article by Elizabeth Wagmeister via Variety.com

‘Empire’ Returns Big, Draws Second-Best Rating to Date; ‘Rosewood’ Starring Morris Chestnut Solid

By goodblacknews on September 24, 2015

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“Empire” Season 2 (Photo via CHUCK HODES/FOX)

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.

The demographics score for “Empire” more than doubled the next highest-rated program on the night (3.1 for ABC’s “Modern Family”) and it’s 38% higher than the No. 2-rated series of premiere week (4.7 for CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory”). The only entertainment series on television to have drawn a higher 18-49 rating for an episode this year is AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

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

Actor/Producer Idris Elba and Director Thomas Ikimi Land Deal with Fox to Develop TV Drama "The Crusaders"

By goodblacknews on September 10, 2015

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Getty Images

Fox has put in development The Crusaders, an hourlong drama series from Legacy writer-director Thomas Ikimi, the 2010 film’s star Idris Elba, Legendary TV and studio-based Di Bonaventura Television.
Written by Ikimi, The Crusaders, which has a script commitment, focuses on an extended family of second-generation Africans living in the U.S. who specialize in locating and returning valuable objects stolen from Africa during colonial occupation. UK-born Ikimi and Elba are both of African descent. Elba executive produces the project through his Green Door Pictures, along with Ikimi through T&T Studios and Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Dan McDermott via Di Bonaventura Television.
Elba previously executive produced Fox’s Luther remake, which went to pilot stage but has had problems casting the lead, played by Elba in the original British series.

Ikimi’s short film Nostradamus premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
article by Denise Petski via deadline.com

"Empire" Wins Program of the Year at Television Critics Association Awards

By goodblacknews on August 8, 2015
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Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon in “Empire” (Photo Courtesy Fox)

“Empire” may have been snubbed by the Television Academy for this season’s Emmy Awards, but it won redemption from the Television Critics Association, winning the organization’s top prize, Program of the Year.
In winning program of the year, “Empire” edged out “Game of Thrones,” “Mad Men,” “The Americans” and “Transparent.” Amazon’s family dramedy had been nominated for four TCA awards, but ultimately won none.
The evening’s other big winner was pop culture’s “it” girl of the moment, Amy Schumer, who took home two prizes: for her Comedy Central series “Inside Amy Schumer” as Outstanding Achievement in Comedy as well as for Individual Achievement in Comedy.
AMC earned two wins, too: its highly praised freshman series “Better Call Saul,” the prequel to “Breaking Bad,” was crowned Outstanding New Program, and “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm claimed his second Individual Achievement in Drama award for his portrayal of adman Don Draper. (Will this bode well for his quest for that long-elusive Emmy?)
HBO also notched two awards. Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling’s compelling documentary “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” won for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials. And the cable network’s news show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” earned the award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information.
The critics also bestowed a top prize on one of their favorites: FX’s spy thriller “The Americans” won Outstanding Achievement in Drama.

SEE MORE: ‘Empire’ Creator Lee Daniels Developing Girl Band-Based Series ‘Star’ for Fox

In TCA tradition, a “Heritage Award” was given to a show in recognition of its cultural and social impact. And this year, the recipient was late-night staple “Late Show/Late Night with David Letterman,” which ended its run in May after 33 years.
Oscar and Emmy-winning writer, producer and director James L. Brooks (“The Simpsons,” “Taxi,” “Mary Tyler Moore”) was given the Career Achievement Award for his role in creating some of the most groundbreaking and influential television programs.
The critics organization handed out its annual awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles Saturday night, in a ceremony hosted by James Corden, host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show.”
article by Debra Birnbaum via Variety.com

‘Empire’s’ Lee Daniels Signs Multi-Year Overall Deal with 20th Century Fox TV

By goodblacknews on June 29, 2015
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Producer/Writer Lee Daniels (PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW H. WALKER/GETTY IMAGES)

Lee Daniels’ reign at 20th Century Fox Television will continue.  The “Empire” co-creator has signed a multi-year overall deal with the studio that will allow him to develop, write, direct and supervise new television projects under his Lee Daniels Entertainment banner. He will also remain an executive producer of the popular Fox drama.
“Lee Daniels has a gift for telling authentic, provocative stories that are both truthful and wildly entertaining,” commented Fox Television Group chairmen and CEOs Gary Newman and Dana Walden, who announced the news. “His casting instincts are incredible, whether he is discovering tomorrow’s stars or attracting the most accomplished performers to his projects. As a director, he elevates world class material to even greater heights, balancing heart-wrenching poignancy with surprising moments of levity that are over the top and fun. Quite simply, we love working with this inspired storyteller, and this deal is about extending and deepening our relationship.”
To say that “Empire” has been a win for Fox would be an understatement. The music industry-focused series, which stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, is the highest-rated broadcast drama in seven years.
Daniels serves as an executive producer on “Empire” along with co-creator Danny Strong, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo and showrunner Ilene Chaiken, who inked an overall with 20th Century Fox Television in May. Daniels also directed the pilot.
“I’m incredibly excited to continue my relationship with Dana and Gary, and the rest of the Fox team,” said Daniels. “I’m looking forward to developing content and finding alternative voices for both in front of and behind the camera.”
article by Whitney Friedlander via Variety.com

Keke Palmer Joins Cast of "Grease: Live" on Fox

By goodblacknews on May 30, 2015

Keke Palmer (photo via thatgrapejuice.net)
Keke Palmer (photo via thatgrapejuice.net)

Keke Palmer has landed a role in Grease: Live, Fox’s upcoming live production of the popular musical, set to air on January 31, 2016. She’ll play Pink Lady “Marty Maraschino”, alongside Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens. Broadway writers Robert Cary (Anything but Love, Ira & Abby) and Jonathan Tolins (Buyer & Cellar, The Last Sunday In June) will pen the adaptation.
Palmer will next be seen in Fox’s comedy horror series Scream Queens, set to debut this fall. Her breakout role came in feature Akeelah And The Bee. She went on to star as the title character in the hit cable series True Jackson, VP, and most recently made Broadway history as the first African-American and youngest actress to star in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1957 musical, Cinderella. Other film credits include Ice Age: Continental Drift, Joyful Noise, Brotherly Love and Imperial Dreams. Her TV work includes A Trip to Bountiful, cable miniseries Full Circle, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,  and a six-episode arc on the second season of Masters Of Sex.
Marc Platt will executive-produce Grease: Live. Thomas Kail is the director overseeing the stage direction and Alex Rudzinski will serve as the live television director. It is a Paramount Television production.
article by Denise Petski via deadline.com

"Empire" Is the Biggest International Television Hit Since "The Cosby Show"

By goodblacknews on May 8, 2015
Empire won’t stop setting trends. The show wrapped its season one finale back in March, but people all over the world are still catching on. The hit Fox show has become the first since The Cosby Show to be a hit all over the world, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Empire is now sold out in virtually every major territory worldwide. Big terrestrial broadcasters like Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1, Network Ten in Australia and France’s M6 — networks with market positions similar to Fox’s in the U.S. — have acquired the series. In the U.K., where U.S. shows of any kind have a hard time getting on major networks, it went to E4, Channel 4’s smaller digital pay TV outlet. Fox International Channels, which is a smaller pay TV player in most foreign territories, has picked up the show for multiple global markets including Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and South Africa.
Empire has even conquered Asia, a notoriously difficult market for U.S. shows, with deals for such key territories as China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.

The best part about it all is that it’s happening to other Black television shows, like How to Get Away with Murder, Power, and Black-ish, as well. Power‘s second season will be seen in France, Australia, and the United Kingdom, with more countries to be added later. Global networks are finally catching on that even people in Germany might want to catch a sitcom with –surprise! – black people.

Similarly, one German buyer tells THR when she first saw the pilot of Black-ish, “I thought it wouldn’t work on a major German network, not because of the cast but because it seemed a very niche comedy. But after a few episodes it’s become clear the show is much broader. It’s a real family sitcom of the kind that could easily work here on primetime.”

article by Ariel Cherie via blackamericaweb.com

"Empire" Caps 1st Season With More Than 17 Million Viewers

By goodblacknews on March 20, 2015
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Fox drama “Empire” capped its stunning first-year ratings performance Wednesday night with viewership gains for a tenth straight week and a demo delivery not seen by any broadcast series in nearly six years.
Nielsen estimates that the two-hour finale of “Empire” averaged a 6.4 rating/20 share in adults 18-49 and 16.5 million viewers overall — up about 10% in both categories from last week’s hourlong episode (5.8/17 and 14.92 million); these numbers are expected to rise in the nationals. It opened at 8 p.m. where it left off last week (5.8 demo rating) and did a 6.8/21 and 17.5 million in its regular 9 p.m. hour.
This means that “Empire” managed to grow its audience with each of the 11 hours following its Jan. 7 premiere, which averaged 9.90 million. Wednesday’s audience for the 9 o’clock hour was up a whopping 77% (or 7.6 million viewers) from the show’s debut.
The soap starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson also grew each week in its core women 18-34 demo, with Wednesday’s 7.6 rating/27 share more than double the show’s premiere-night average (3.7 rating/12).
The 6.8 rating for its second hour makes it far and away the top score for any regularly scheduled broadcast program this season, nearly 25% higher than the 5.5 rating achieved by the season premiere of CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory.” The only entertainment series to fare better since the start of the television season in September has been AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” which did a whopping 8.7 for its fifth-season premiere last October and has averaged at least a 7 rating with 10 of its 14 episodes so far this season.
“Empire” was a social-media dynamo as well Wednesday, garnering 2.4 million tweets during the broadcast, according to Nielsen Social Guide. And on Facebook, roughly 2 million people generated 15.8 million likes/comments/shares related to the finale.
article by Rick Kissell via Variety.com

Record Breaker: "Empire" Soundtrack Scores Rare No. 1 For TV Series on Billboard Albums Chart

By goodblacknews on March 18, 2015
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According to Deadline.com, not only is Empire the most successful debuting drama in the past 25 years of television history, now its soundtrack is the No. 1 album in the country, debuting in the top spot on the Billboard 200 this week. This is a rare feat — especially for a network drama series.  The last time any TV soundtrack reached No. 1 on the charts was in 2010, when three Glee collections hit the top spot (also a Fox show).  The main distinction, however is that Glee‘s soundtracks were covers of already-popular tunes; Empire’s soundtrack are mostly new songs produced by Timbaland and performed by the original artists/cast members.

Billboard’s official stats come out Wednesday morning, but leaked numbers suggest Original Soundtrack From Season 1 Of Empire will keep Madonna from having a No. 1 debut for the first time since 1998 with her new release “Rebel Heart.”  Empire‘s ratings grew in each of its first nine weeks on the air and last week hit a high of 14.9 million. This number is sure to be even higher tomorrow night after its two-hour season finale.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)