In today’s roundup, E! announces its expansion of the “WAGS” franchise with “WAGS Atlanta,” the presenters for the 38th annual Sports Emmys are released, and more…
GREENLIGHTS
E! has announced that it will expand its popular “WAGS” franchise with the addition of “WAGS Atlanta,” slated to debut this fall. The new series will follow the luxurious lifestyles and drama in the exclusive world of superstar athletes through the perspective of the women who stand by their side. Additionally, Season 2 of “WAGS Miami” will launch on Thursday, Jun. 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, and “WAGS LA” Season 3 premieres on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
SPECIALS
The presenters for the 38th annual Sports Emmys have been released, which include Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery (CBS); Bob Ley and Jeremy Schaap (ESPN); Kevin Burkhardt, Alex Rodriguez, and Frank Thomas (Fox), and more. As previously announced, Brent Musburger will be honored with the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards take place on Tuesday, May 9 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall.
CASTING
Donald Faison will be guest starring in the fifth season of Showtime’s drama “Ray Donovan.” Faison will play Antoine A’Shawn Anderson, a screenwriter who works with a top Hollywood movie star. The fifth season sees Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber) returning his attention to his celebrity fixer firm. Faison is best known for his work on “Scrubs” and “The Exes,” and is repped by UTA and Primary Wave.
The Anti-Defamation League will honor Bill Prady, co-creator and executive producer of “The Big Bang Theory,” at the 2017 Entertainment Industry Dinner on May 24 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The dinner honors individuals in the entertainment industry annually for their vision, leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to the community.
FIRST LOOK
Starz and the BBC released Thursday the first image from the limited series “Howard’s End,” based on the classic E.M. Forster novel. The image features Hayley Atwell (Margaret Schlegel) and Matthew Macfadyen (Henry Wilcox) at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand restaurant. The four-part series tracks the lives of two unconventional sisters and the men in their lives seeking love and meaning as they navigate an ever-changing world. Currently filming in London, the hour-long episodes with air on BBC One in the U.K. and Starz in the U.S.
DEVELOPMENT
Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI) has reached a deal to acquire leading millennial-focused media company Spoon University. Spoon University, which deals primarily in food-related media, will allow Scripps to expand their presence in that realm. The New York-based company’s content is provided by millennial communities of storytellers from around the world, with more than 8,000 creators in 200 chapters in the United States, Canada, India, and Europe. Over the last year, Spoon University has successfully partnered with Scripps Networks to develop regular content for Food Network’s Snapchat channel. The new relationship with Scripps will allow Spoon University to expand into even more content.
SNI has also signed a deal with Snap Inc. that will bring new food- and home-related programming, including Shows, to Snapchat’s Discover platform. Under this new, expanded deal, multiple of Scripps Networks’ popular TV networks, Food Network and HGTV, will begin developing and producing Shows for Snapchat.
Sonar Entertainment has acquired assets from independent producer and distributor Tricon Films & Television that will help it expand into kids, non-scripted, and family entertainment for the first time. Program acquisitions include the kids series “Counterfeit Cat,” currently airing in the US on Disney XD, on Teletoon in Canada, on Hulu and in over 200 countries worldwide. Sonar is also acquiring Tricon properties currently in development. These include the children’s series “Go Away Unicorn,” for Disney and Corus, the non-scripted series “Texas Metal” for Discovery and “Food’s Greatest Hits” for Scripps. In addition, key members of the Tricon senior executive team will be joining Sonar, including company founder and president Andrea Gorfolova.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
TEGNA, Inc. tapped Maureen FitzPatrick to executive produce “Daily Blast LIVE” aheads of its fall 2017 launch. The 30-minute syndicated daytime show is the latest from TEGNA, and will be a multi-platform news and entertainment show will bring unpredictable content to all of TEGNA’s 36 markets. Before joining TENGA, Fitzpatrick worked at CBS Television Distribution as an executive vice president. She also executive produced Judge Judy Scheindlin’s “Hot Bench.”
Maria Spinella has been promoted to executive producer of “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.” Spinella was most recently senior broadcast producer for the show and has been with CNN for 10 years. Previously, she was senior producer to “Piers Morgan Live,” where she managed taped segments, live shows, and post-production.
STREAMING
Amazon is currently streaming “Englishman in LA,” a hilarious film about British author, Tom Dingle, who comes to Los Angeles to promote his best-selling romance novel, only to be swallowed up by “the entertainment biz” when his book is threatened to become a cliche Hollywood movie. Up-and-comer Cameron Moir plays Tom, who has to not only fight for his film but also fight off five love interests, including “Glee” alum Ashley Fink. Fink plays Molly, a crazed fan. Which lady will he pick?