US REPORT: OCTOBER 2, 2018

MAGNUM PI sinks in week 2 on CBS; Amazon announces new commissions in key programming areas; CBS terminates overall with NCIS: NEW ORLEANS showrunner Brad Kern

BROADCAST RATINGS:

Network Average:

Broadcast Primetime Live + Same Day – Monday, October 1, 2018

Ratings Report:

• For the second week of Fall Primetime, NBC maintained a solid hold over the other networks. THE VOICE held steady with a 2.0 in adults 18-49, while MANIFEST came out as the highest scripted broadcast show of the evening, despite losing 15% of Voice’s lead-in audience and dropping four-tenths from its 2.2 premiere to post a 1.8 this week.
• CBS had another rocky evening of programming, although one spot of good news came from the series premiere of new comedy THE NEIGHBORHOOD, which earned a 1.3 in its debut (the same as the highest rated episode of KEVIN CAN WAIT, the comedy previously in the same slot). However, the first episode of HAPPY TOGETHER didn’t fare nearly as well, putting up a so-so 1.0 and losing 27% of the lead-in audience from Neighborhood. The downward trend infected the rest of CBS’ lineup, as well – the second episode of rebooted action series MAGNUM PI is already down under a 1.0, posting a 0.9 this time around (three tenths down from its premiere), while BULL fell off another tenth, posting a low 0.8.
• FOX’s 9-1-1 (1.6) and THE RESIDENT (1.0) held up decently this week, falling one-tenth from what they had scored a week ago. On ABC, DANCING WITH THE STARS (0.9) and THE GOOD DOCTOR (1.2) were both down tenth, as well.
• CW saw the season finale of PENN & TELLER: FOOL US tick up a tenth to 0.3 this week, while WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? scored its usual 0.2.

CABLE RATINGS:

Top 25 Original Programs on Cable – Sunday, September 30, 2018

Of Note:

• Topping Sunday cable ratings for another week in a row was TLC’s 90 DAY FIANCE: BEFORE THE 90 DAYS, even with a 0.8 in adults 18-49. Following closely behind in the number two position was FEAR THE WALKING DEAD at 0.7, maintaining a season high and picking up its largest audience since June (1.2 million). Rounding out the top three was an episode of perennial favorite HALLOWEEN WARS on Food Network. The holiday-themed food competition series also scored a 0.7.
• Elsewhere in scripted cable, INSECURE ticked back up a tenth to 0.3 this week, while BALLERS (0.3) stayed steady. Showtime’s SHAMELESS pulled in another 0.4.
• Discovery Channel’s ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE (0.4) and E!’s KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS (0.5) both held steady for another week.

OTHER NEWS:

• DEVELOPMENT NEWS:
  • ICE CREAM MAN | Image Comics, Universal Cable Productions

Log Line: Based on the Image Comics serial of the same name, the television adaptation is a horror-fantasy anthology series along the same lines as Tales From The Crypt and Night Gallery.

• NOTES:
  • The format of this series (an omnipresent narrator presents creepy twists on <insert culture>’s fairy tales) is an easily adaptable one for any market. In this instance, all of the horror stories will share macabre twists on common American suburbian tropes. This narrative structure has become incredibly popular in the US market once again – not just anthology series, but genre anthology series.
  • Also of note, UCP is targeting premium cable and streaming services only, just the latest in a series of companies and studios that are shifting increasingly away from traditional broadcast, preferring the freer-range cable and streaming outlets currently provide (and are willing to pay for).
• PROJECTS GREENLIT/ORDERED:
  • Amazon is on fire today, commissioning shows in several genres, as well as continuing to enlarge its stable of creators in overall deals with the studio. I’ve put notes on all below, but the biggest takeaway is that Amazon is really setting itself up to take a run at becoming THE tastemaker in streaming over Netflix (and I’m having fun watching Jennifer Salke’s approach to Amazon’s TV development; it’s a broad blend of HBO-level taste mixed with Amazon’s ability to understand and meaningfully quantify its audiences):
    • ECO CHALLENGE 2019 | MGM TV | EP: Mark Burnett | Hosted by Bear Grylls

Amazon has commissioned a reboot of the series that put Mark Burnett on the map. The show will air globally through Amazon Prime, and pits teams of four against each other and nature’s harsh elements in a grueling 24-hours a day, multi-day race. If one teammate quits the entire team is disqualified. The 2019 location for the epic adventure will be unveiled later this year.

• Casting will be international
• Most significant order in non-scripted since launching THE GRAND TOUR, starring the hosts of UK’s Top Gear.

• THE WHEEL OF TIME | Radar Pictures, Red Eagle Entertainment | Sony Pictures TV | Amazon | TBDx60

Log line: Based upon Robert Jordan's best-selling novels, this action fantasy series is set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists, but only women can use it. Meaning that in this series — women hold the keys to power. The story follows Moiraine, a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the ‘Aes Sedai’ as she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women. Moiraine’s interested in these five because she believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual, whom prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it. The series draws on numerous elements of European and Asian culture and philosophy, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism. 

• Will launch in 200 territories late 2019/early 2020

• UNTITLED #METOO COMEDY | Fox 21 | Amazon

Log Line: Revolves around the staff of the Ombudsman’s office at a college that navigates PC culture and the #metoo climate. The lead character, played by comedienne Whitney Cummings, must reconcile the dissonance between different generations of feminism, and the struggle to reconcile our primal desires, and socially constructed identities with current ethical obligations regarding race, class, and gender.

• Executive producer is Lee Daniels, co-creator/EP of Fox/20^th’s two most successful series, EMPIRE and STAR
• Very curious to know what they paid to acquire it, as the package was the subject of a bidding war before Amazon took it off the table

• NEW OVERALL DEAL: Neil Gaiman – exclusive to create scripted TV series for Amazon Prime Video
  • In the worlds of comics and genre storytelling, this may be THE biggest creative get of the year for any outlet. Gaiman has been a mainstay of best-in-class sci-fi, horror, and fantasy storytelling in comics, books, film, and television for decades, most notably the Sandman series, the film Mirrormask with the Jim Henson Company, and most recently the hit American Gods on Starz, based on his novel.
  • The deal comes ahead of the launch of (much anticipated) limited series GOOD OMENS based on the absurd Apocalypse novel he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett.
  • Deal runs through 9/30/2020
• BUSINESS BRIEFS:
  • CBS continues to clean house. The broadcast network announced this morning that they were terminating their relationship and overall deal with former NCIS: NEW ORLEANS showrunner Brad Kern, amid inquiries centering around discrimination against working mothers and racially charged comments. Good to see that CBS is finally purging itself of at least some of the ‘Old Boys Network’, and I’ll be watching Dick Parson’s moves closely to see if he takes the network in a fundamentally new direction or continues more of the same. Whether that’s through a programming move for more cross-content to encourage viewing on both its linear and OTT platforms and/or a seismic shift in creative style and buying strategy, I don’t know, but suddenly CBS is interesting again.