In today’s roundup, Lifetime released the trailer for new thriller series “You,” and the CW announced the return dates for several summer shows.
FRIST LOOKS
Lifetime released the first official trailer of thriller series “You” based on the best-selling book of the same name by Caroline Kepnes. From executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, the show follows a twisted, obsessive love story about a man who uses the hyper-connectivity of today’s world to make a woman fall for him. “You” stars Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Shay Mitchell, Luca Padovan, and Zach Cherry, with a special guest appearance by John Stamos. It premieres September 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Watch the trailer below.
CASTING
Undefeated boxing champion Andre “Son of God” Ward will host Mark Burnett’s boxing competition series “The Contender.” Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson have also joined the series as trainers. The 12-episode season will air on EPIX and will be produced by Burnett, while Eric Van Wagenen serves as executive producer and showrunner. MGM Television and Paramount Television own the format.
DATES
The CW announced the summer premiere dates for new and returning series. Improv series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” returns June 4 at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. Season 5 of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” airs June 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. “Masters of Illusion” debuts with two episodes on June 29, with the first at 8 p.m. and the second following at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. The 10-episode fantasy adventure series “The Outpost” from producer Dean Devlin premieres July 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. “Burden of Truth,” the legal drama starring Kristin Kreuk debuts on July 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The docuseries “My Last Days,” hosted and executive produced by “Jane the Virgin” star Justin Baldoni,” will have a three-part special kicking off on May 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The CW also set a date for the season finale of “Life Sentence” starring Lucy Hale which will conclude its first season on June 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. “Supergirl” will have its third season finale on June 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Paramount Network will add classic episodes of “Roseanne” to its weekly lineup starting with a marathon on April 17 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The marathon will feature episodes that show the relationship between Sara Gilbert’s character Darlene and Johnny Galecki’s character David which will lead into the episode that premieres that night. Starting April 18, four reruns of “Roseanne” will air each weekday from 4 to 6 p.m. ET/PT.
GREENLIGHTS
Nickelodeon announced Tuesday it is greenlighting a live action series called “The Covurts” which will be the first original co-production between Nickelodeon International and Israeli Nutz Productions with Israeli cable network HOT. The show was created by Tom Riles, David Guest, and Patrick Quinn. Michal Cooper Keren serves as head writer. “The Covurts” will premiere internationally in 2019.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Nurit Siegel Smith has joined the House of Blues Music Forward Foundation as its executive director. Smith will help Music Forward continue to create opportunities for youth in the music industry as the non-profit celebrates its 25th anniversary. She previously served as deputy director at Grand Performances, a cultural and performing arts organization in Los Angeles.
PROGRAMMING
Fox Television Stations is expanding its local news presence in nine large markets including Washington, D.C., Detroit, Minneapolis, and Phoenix. The additional hours and half-hour newscasts are being added in morning, afternoon, evening and late-night slots, depending on the market. In all, Fox Television Stations deliver more than 42 hours of local news each week. “In a time when media critics are accusing large station groups of cutting back on news, we are adding more newscasts than ever,” said Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy.
BEHIND THE SCENES
HBO revealed the names of the top 20 semi-finalists for the 2018 HBOAccess Directing Fellowship. The program was created to support directors trying to break into the television industry by allowing them to shoot a pilot presentation that will air on HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now. Those who are advancing to the final round will be notified on April 16 and those selected to participate in the program will be determined by May 4. The 2018 HBOAccess semi-finalists are: Alicia J. Rose, Carey Williams, Damon Russell, Dinh Thai, Dubois Ashong, Erika Bagnarello, Huay-Bing Law, Jacqueline Dow, Kaitlin Fontana, Mary Gulino, Maureen Bharoocha, Michael Olmos, Mylissa Fitzsimmons, Olivia Clare Newman, Ryan Richmond, Ryan Zaragoza, Tanuj Chopra, Tarik Jackson, Thembi Banks and Zao Wang.
RATINGS
The premiere of “Jersey Shore Family Vacation” continued to pay dividends for MTV in delayed viewing. After the show put up strong numbers in Live+Same Day, it grew by 43% in adults 18-34–the demographic targeted by MTV–reaching a 4.2 in that measure. It also grew by approximately one million viewers, up to 3.6 million overall.=[
