TV
CW to Introduce Batwoman in Next Arrowverse Crossover Event. Gotham City is coming to the Arrowverse! During the CW's 2018 Upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on Thursday, May 17, it was confirmed that the network would be once again delivering a major crossover event for its extended slate of DC Comics shows. And this time, the festivities will welcome another major character into the fold: Batwoman! Arrow star Stephen Amell made the announcement during the presentation, telling the crowd, "We're incredibly excited to announce that we'll be doing another crossover event this fall on the CW, and we'll be introducing a new character. For the very first time appearing, we'll be fighting alongside Batwoman, which is terrific. The crossover is going to make it to air in December. I need to leave right now and start filming it." CW president Mark Pedowitz then went and took it a step further revealing that one of DC Comics' most iconic cities would become a part of the Arrowverse as well. "We are adding the city of Gotham into the Arrowverse," he added. "This will be another full-throttled action-packed event." Is that a potential spinoff we smell? The news comes on the heels of Fox's announcement that Gotham, their DC Comics series set in the city during the days before Bruce Wayne become Batman, will be coming to an end in the upcoming 2018-19 season with its fifth season. Around the same time that Batwoman makes her debut in the Arrowverse, another Gotham-related series will be readying its debut as Epix has ordered another Batman prequel series from Gotham executive producer Bruno Heller. Pennyworth will focus on the early days of Bruce Wayne's butler and surrogate father, Alfred Pennyworth. The series is not directly related to Gotham and will present a different take on the character than the one played by Sean Pertwee in the Fox series. The big Arrowverse crossover event will make its way to the CW this December. (Eonline)
iZombie, Jane the Virgin & Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Get Final Season Orders...Which CW Show Will You Miss Most? Say it ain't so! During the annual upfront presentation this week in New York City, The CW saddened some fans when they announced that three beloved shows would be getting picked up... but for their farewell seasons. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, created by and starring Rachel Bloom, will have its fourth and final season beginning this fall. Jane the Virgin and iZombie will also be getting one last season this TV cycle. For Jane the Virgin, which stars Gina Rodriguez, Justin Baldoni and more, the last ride will begin midseason and will mark its fifth season overall. iZombie, which stars Rose McIver -- and is all about a medical student who is actually a zombie -- will also kick off its fifth and final season when midseason shows begin AKA in 2019. Even though we're not ready to say goodbye to these shows at least we'll get a final season for each of them. The saddest part is that we do have to let go of the characters and actors we've loved on all of these shows sooner rather than later. As you're processing the fact that we're losing some great TV shows from The CW you can start re-watching the best episodes to cheer you up. (Eonline)
Riverdale Season 2 Finale Is Under Arrest For a Murder We Completely Forgot About. Do you remember that time many episodes and several plotlines ago when the core four of Riverdale took a little trip to Lodge Lodge, a lodge owned by the Lodges? Remember, the same episode where the rest of the characters went to see Love, Simon? And then remember the guy who Andre shot after he attacked the kids at the lodge? The random guy? The random guy we immediately forgot about as a thousand other things started to happen? Yes, that guy! Well guess who suddenly became important at the very end of the night's season two finale! Just after being elected student council president (after literally all of his other friends and competition dropped out of the race due to many various hindrances), Archie was arrested the murder of that random guy, a murder which was actually committed by Andre. We're not complaining about suddenly dealing with the consequences of dealing with the death of this guy, because sure, he did die, but dang did this show do a good job of making us forget about him entirely until Archie randomly reminded us of it earlier in the finale, when he declared he was going to make those damn bones once and for all. (Did he also remind Hiram of it and get himself arrested for it???) Anyway, that's a plot for season two, and barely even a fraction of what happened in this finale. First of all, Jughead was not dead (duhhhhh) and that promo funeral was a dream sequence, but he was beaten up very badly and then named Serpent King by his retiring father. And his first act as gang leader was to induct Cheryl (who recently made her grandmother her legal guardian) into the gang with her very own and inexplicably (but also pretty explicably) red Serpents jacket. Toni looked so proud, and strangely so were we. Meanwhile, Betty continued to grapple with the fact that her dad is the town serial killer (or serial almost-killer since most of his attempts did not work out), and even went to visit him in jail. He tried to convince her she also had some serial killer-y darkness inside her, but she voted no on that. Alice, however, seemed to be convinced by Polly that she needed help from some kinda farm cult leader. The copycat black hood was alleged to be Tall Boy, who Hiram hired after he was exiled from the Serpents, and by the end of the night, we saw Hiram putting together a crack team of Riverdale supervillains (a perfect comic book concept we're kind of obsessed with). Even Penelope and Claudius Blossom were on hand, along with Penny and the leader of the Ghoulies, as Hiram promised the core four were nothing to worry about. "Steps have been taken to dissolve the very glue that holds them together," he said menacingly before Archie was arrested. And finally, Hermione was elected mayor and Veronica is no longer opening a casino, but she is going to open a speakeasy. It's silly, but we're here for Mayor Hermione and Businesswoman Veronica, especially if they're going to be working to take down Hiram's League of Evil. In fact, we're here for everything happening right now, just in time for this show to take a nice long break. Riverdale airs on the CW. (Eonline)
"The Chew" won't permanently replace disgraced chef Mario Batali -- for now, at least. Co-host Carla Hall told Us Weekly on Tuesday that replacing Batali following numerous sexual harassment allegations is "not in the plans." Instead, Hall, Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly will remain in the full-time hosting seats. But a rep for the talk show told us on Wednesday that execs could change their minds in the future. "There are no plans at this time to announce another host, but that could change in the future," a rep for "The Chew" told Page Six. "The Chew" announced on its Facebook page in December that the show had cut ties with Batali and denied knowing about any of his alleged inappropriate behavior. "While we remain unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with our show," the network's statement read, "ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment and his past behavior violates our standards of conduct." Batali also removed himself from his restaurant empire's day-to-day operations. (Page Six)
Amazon Greenlights Diego Maradona Soccer Drama. The legendary, but highly controversial, Argentine soccer star is considered by many to be the best player in history. Amazon Prime Video has given the green light to a new drama series based on the life of legendary Argentine soccer star Diego Armando Maradona. The series will follow Maradona's rise from a childhood of abject poverty to the highest levels of professional and international soccer. It will include his international success in Europe, where he played for Barcelona (transferring in 1983 for a then-record fee of $7.6 million), and Italy, where he became a legend as the star of Napoli's soccer club, taking the side to their first-ever national title in 1987 (and repeating the feat in 1990). The series will also look at Maradona's role in leading Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In a match against England, Maradona scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal, illegally punching in a goal in a move that was not caught by the referee. In that same match, he single handedly dribbled through the entire England squad, scoring a goal often judged to be the greatest ever. "There are few players whose notoriety transcends generations and geographic borders -- Maradona is a household name around the world, and his career highlights are still discussed today among the biggest moments in soccer's history," said Brad Beale, vp, worldwide TV content acquisition at Prime Video. Mexican production company BTF Media, makers of the hit Mexican teen drama Soy Luna for the Disney Channel, will produce the Maradona series in association with Dhana Media and Raze. Francisco Cordero, co-founder and CEO, BTF Media, said the series would offer a picture of Maradona "not only as a champion but also as a man." Aside from his on-pitch antics, Maradona's private life has been a constant source of controversy, including several bouts of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as tax evasion. Maradona failed a doping test during the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., ending his career as a player. Maradona has been the subject of several films, including Italian biopic Maradona the Hand of God and Emir Kusturica's documentary Maradona by Kusturica. He also was portrayed as a character in Paolo Sorrentino's Youth, starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of Amy, is currently in production on a Maradona documentary that will focus on the star's mid-1980s career in Napoli. In 2016, Maradona struck a deal with Argentine broadcaster Telefe, now owned by Viacom, for a biopic that was unveiled by Telefe content and international business director Tomas Yankelevich. (Hollywood Reporter)
Disney Channel Renews Animated Series 'Big City Greens' Ahead of Premiere. The animated comedy-adventure show, which premieres June 18, centers on a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moves to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family; Jon Hamm and Raven-Symone are among the guest voices. Disney Channel has ordered a second season of Big City Greens ahead of its series debut. The animated comedy-adventure show centers on a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moves to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family. The Disney Television Animation show hails from comic book creators and brothers Chris and Shane Houghton (Harvey Beaks), who were influenced by their childhood growing up in the small rural town of St. Johns, Mich., with many of the locations and characters inspired by their real-life family members and the town's residents. The series is set to premiere at 9:30 a.m. Monday, June 18, on Disney Channel, DisneyNOW and Disney Channel VOD. "Drawing upon their personal experiences, Chris and Shane have created a 'fish-out-of-water' series that consistently delivers stories with big laughs and plenty of heart," said Eric Coleman, senior vp original programming and general manager at Disney Television Animation. "We're eager for viewers to get to know the tight-knit Green family and their endearing relationships that will be universally appealing to kids and families." Big City Greens follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green, whose natural curiosity and enthusiasm lead him and his family -- older sister Tilly, father Bill and Gramma Alice -- on epic journeys and into the hearts of his new neighbors. Chris Houghton voices Cricket Green, with Artemis Pebdani (Scandal) as sweet Gramma Alice, Marieve Herington (How I Met Your Mother) as quirky older sister Tilly Green and Bob Joles (Puss in Boots) as hard-working father Bill Green. The guest voice cast includes Jon Hamm, Raven-Symone, Busta Rhymes, Danny Trejo, Lorraine Toussaint, Jim Rash, Paul F. Tompkins, Lauren Lapkus, Andy Daly, Scott Aukerman, McElroy, Paul Scheer, Zeno Robinson, Colton Dunn and Anna Akana. The series premieres with a week of new episodes airing daily from June 18-22 as part of Disney Channel's GO! Summer that super-serves kids and families all season with new programming. After that, new episodes will premiere throughout the summer on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. In addition, Big City Greens shorts will begin rolling out Saturday, June 16, on Disney Channel and Disney Channel YouTube. The DisneyNOW app will also unveil its first multiplayer game, Big City Battle!, where players compete against each other to earn their place as members of the Green family. The Houghton brothers serve as executive producers alongside Rob Renzetti (Gravity Falls), with Monica Ray (Harvey Beaks) and Natasha Kline (South Park) as directors. (Hollywood Reporter)
CW Executives on Sunday Strategy, Reduced Ad Loads and Passing on 'Supernatural' Spinoff. Mark Pedowitz and his CW exec fielded questions from the press about their fall schedule ahead of the CW upfront presentation Thursday morning. Rather than focus on his five new series, the press grilled CW president Mark Pedowitz about his decision to expand his programming from five nights to six a week. Come fall, The CW will open up Sunday nights, which will feature the original scripted programming pairing of Supergirl and Charmed. To hear Pedowitz tell it, it was important to have both an established returning series (the former) and a brand-name new one (the latter) as it would help do some of the heavy lifting in marketing the network as well as the shows on the night. Choosing series as high-profile as he did also served as a powerful signal to advertisers and affiliates alike that The CW was committed to Sundays. As for the broader decision to add the night, Pedowitz made clear during his half-hour call with reporters ahead of his network's upfront presentation Thursday morning that the more programming that The CW has, the better off the business is. "It was also a statement that we do believe in broadcast," he told reporters. "We want to stake a claim that we want to grow as others contract." As Pedowitz sees it, the ability to expand to 12 hours in the fall was a sign of confidence from The CW affiliates, parent companies and business model, which has been boosted of late care of a lucrative SVOD deal with Netflix. Which is not to say the move to Sundays will come easy. Later in the call, his marketing chief Rick Haskins noted that the marketing push -- for the new night as well as the shows -- would begin early. In fact, he revealed that the stars of Charmed and Supergirl would be busy recording promos for "CW Sundays" next week to air on the local stations as soon as possible; a national campaign will come closer to air. The remainder of The CW's time with the press featured a hodgepodge of topics, including two questions about the decision not to pick up the female-led Supernatural spinoff Wayward Sisters. Pedowitz reiterated that while he was a fan of both the characters and the women playing them, he felt that the product, in its current form, wasn't as strong creatively as those pilots that he did pick up. As for the departure of Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend after this coming season, Pedowitz suggested that the hour-long light comedy genre that the pairing established was one he was committed to continuing. He also praised the two shows as well as iZombie for helping change the perception of his network, and then added that he would love to have new fare from the affected talent as early as the 2019-20 season. Also included in the call was a considerably more frank synopsis of the ad marketplace by The CW's EVP network sales Rob Tuck. Asked to address the network's strategy with regards to reducing ad time and charging premiums for those reduced ad loads, which media buyers have heard a lot about from other netowrks this week, Tuck stated that his network had no formalized plans to do so at this time. "The buzz around the industry right now is beginning to get the real sense of the cost of doing limited commercial runs, and the clients, most of the clients, are hesitant on the premium that would be pushed back towards them," he said. "So, we're certainly open to trying to figure out these things in the future, but I think the clients are speaking." (Hollywood Reporter)
Suzanne Scott Named CEO of Fox News. Jay Wallace will serve as president of Fox News. Suzanne Scott has been promoted to serve as chief executive officer of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, it was announced Thursday morning. The announcement was made by Lachlan Murdoch, who on Wednesday was named as chairman of CEO of what will become New Fox once Disney's acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox goes through. Jack Abernethy, who served as co-president of Fox News, will remain CEO of FOX Television Stations. Jay Wallace has been upped to serve as president of Fox News. Wallace, a Fox News original, had served as president of news. (Hollywood Reporter)
iZombie, Jane the Virgin & Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Get Final Season Orders...Which CW Show Will You Miss Most? Say it ain't so! During the annual upfront presentation this week in New York City, The CW saddened some fans when they announced that three beloved shows would be getting picked up... but for their farewell seasons. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, created by and starring Rachel Bloom, will have its fourth and final season beginning this fall. Jane the Virgin and iZombie will also be getting one last season this TV cycle. For Jane the Virgin, which stars Gina Rodriguez, Justin Baldoni and more, the last ride will begin midseason and will mark its fifth season overall. iZombie, which stars Rose McIver -- and is all about a medical student who is actually a zombie -- will also kick off its fifth and final season when midseason shows begin AKA in 2019. Even though we're not ready to say goodbye to these shows at least we'll get a final season for each of them. The saddest part is that we do have to let go of the characters and actors we've loved on all of these shows sooner rather than later. As you're processing the fact that we're losing some great TV shows from The CW you can start re-watching the best episodes to cheer you up. (Eonline)
Riverdale Season 2 Finale Is Under Arrest For a Murder We Completely Forgot About. Do you remember that time many episodes and several plotlines ago when the core four of Riverdale took a little trip to Lodge Lodge, a lodge owned by the Lodges? Remember, the same episode where the rest of the characters went to see Love, Simon? And then remember the guy who Andre shot after he attacked the kids at the lodge? The random guy? The random guy we immediately forgot about as a thousand other things started to happen? Yes, that guy! Well guess who suddenly became important at the very end of the night's season two finale! Just after being elected student council president (after literally all of his other friends and competition dropped out of the race due to many various hindrances), Archie was arrested the murder of that random guy, a murder which was actually committed by Andre. We're not complaining about suddenly dealing with the consequences of dealing with the death of this guy, because sure, he did die, but dang did this show do a good job of making us forget about him entirely until Archie randomly reminded us of it earlier in the finale, when he declared he was going to make those damn bones once and for all. (Did he also remind Hiram of it and get himself arrested for it???) Anyway, that's a plot for season two, and barely even a fraction of what happened in this finale. First of all, Jughead was not dead (duhhhhh) and that promo funeral was a dream sequence, but he was beaten up very badly and then named Serpent King by his retiring father. And his first act as gang leader was to induct Cheryl (who recently made her grandmother her legal guardian) into the gang with her very own and inexplicably (but also pretty explicably) red Serpents jacket. Toni looked so proud, and strangely so were we. Meanwhile, Betty continued to grapple with the fact that her dad is the town serial killer (or serial almost-killer since most of his attempts did not work out), and even went to visit him in jail. He tried to convince her she also had some serial killer-y darkness inside her, but she voted no on that. Alice, however, seemed to be convinced by Polly that she needed help from some kinda farm cult leader. The copycat black hood was alleged to be Tall Boy, who Hiram hired after he was exiled from the Serpents, and by the end of the night, we saw Hiram putting together a crack team of Riverdale supervillains (a perfect comic book concept we're kind of obsessed with). Even Penelope and Claudius Blossom were on hand, along with Penny and the leader of the Ghoulies, as Hiram promised the core four were nothing to worry about. "Steps have been taken to dissolve the very glue that holds them together," he said menacingly before Archie was arrested. And finally, Hermione was elected mayor and Veronica is no longer opening a casino, but she is going to open a speakeasy. It's silly, but we're here for Mayor Hermione and Businesswoman Veronica, especially if they're going to be working to take down Hiram's League of Evil. In fact, we're here for everything happening right now, just in time for this show to take a nice long break. Riverdale airs on the CW. (Eonline)
"The Chew" won't permanently replace disgraced chef Mario Batali -- for now, at least. Co-host Carla Hall told Us Weekly on Tuesday that replacing Batali following numerous sexual harassment allegations is "not in the plans." Instead, Hall, Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly will remain in the full-time hosting seats. But a rep for the talk show told us on Wednesday that execs could change their minds in the future. "There are no plans at this time to announce another host, but that could change in the future," a rep for "The Chew" told Page Six. "The Chew" announced on its Facebook page in December that the show had cut ties with Batali and denied knowing about any of his alleged inappropriate behavior. "While we remain unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with our show," the network's statement read, "ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment and his past behavior violates our standards of conduct." Batali also removed himself from his restaurant empire's day-to-day operations. (Page Six)
Amazon Greenlights Diego Maradona Soccer Drama. The legendary, but highly controversial, Argentine soccer star is considered by many to be the best player in history. Amazon Prime Video has given the green light to a new drama series based on the life of legendary Argentine soccer star Diego Armando Maradona. The series will follow Maradona's rise from a childhood of abject poverty to the highest levels of professional and international soccer. It will include his international success in Europe, where he played for Barcelona (transferring in 1983 for a then-record fee of $7.6 million), and Italy, where he became a legend as the star of Napoli's soccer club, taking the side to their first-ever national title in 1987 (and repeating the feat in 1990). The series will also look at Maradona's role in leading Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In a match against England, Maradona scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal, illegally punching in a goal in a move that was not caught by the referee. In that same match, he single handedly dribbled through the entire England squad, scoring a goal often judged to be the greatest ever. "There are few players whose notoriety transcends generations and geographic borders -- Maradona is a household name around the world, and his career highlights are still discussed today among the biggest moments in soccer's history," said Brad Beale, vp, worldwide TV content acquisition at Prime Video. Mexican production company BTF Media, makers of the hit Mexican teen drama Soy Luna for the Disney Channel, will produce the Maradona series in association with Dhana Media and Raze. Francisco Cordero, co-founder and CEO, BTF Media, said the series would offer a picture of Maradona "not only as a champion but also as a man." Aside from his on-pitch antics, Maradona's private life has been a constant source of controversy, including several bouts of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as tax evasion. Maradona failed a doping test during the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., ending his career as a player. Maradona has been the subject of several films, including Italian biopic Maradona the Hand of God and Emir Kusturica's documentary Maradona by Kusturica. He also was portrayed as a character in Paolo Sorrentino's Youth, starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of Amy, is currently in production on a Maradona documentary that will focus on the star's mid-1980s career in Napoli. In 2016, Maradona struck a deal with Argentine broadcaster Telefe, now owned by Viacom, for a biopic that was unveiled by Telefe content and international business director Tomas Yankelevich. (Hollywood Reporter)
Disney Channel Renews Animated Series 'Big City Greens' Ahead of Premiere. The animated comedy-adventure show, which premieres June 18, centers on a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moves to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family; Jon Hamm and Raven-Symone are among the guest voices. Disney Channel has ordered a second season of Big City Greens ahead of its series debut. The animated comedy-adventure show centers on a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moves to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family. The Disney Television Animation show hails from comic book creators and brothers Chris and Shane Houghton (Harvey Beaks), who were influenced by their childhood growing up in the small rural town of St. Johns, Mich., with many of the locations and characters inspired by their real-life family members and the town's residents. The series is set to premiere at 9:30 a.m. Monday, June 18, on Disney Channel, DisneyNOW and Disney Channel VOD. "Drawing upon their personal experiences, Chris and Shane have created a 'fish-out-of-water' series that consistently delivers stories with big laughs and plenty of heart," said Eric Coleman, senior vp original programming and general manager at Disney Television Animation. "We're eager for viewers to get to know the tight-knit Green family and their endearing relationships that will be universally appealing to kids and families." Big City Greens follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green, whose natural curiosity and enthusiasm lead him and his family -- older sister Tilly, father Bill and Gramma Alice -- on epic journeys and into the hearts of his new neighbors. Chris Houghton voices Cricket Green, with Artemis Pebdani (Scandal) as sweet Gramma Alice, Marieve Herington (How I Met Your Mother) as quirky older sister Tilly Green and Bob Joles (Puss in Boots) as hard-working father Bill Green. The guest voice cast includes Jon Hamm, Raven-Symone, Busta Rhymes, Danny Trejo, Lorraine Toussaint, Jim Rash, Paul F. Tompkins, Lauren Lapkus, Andy Daly, Scott Aukerman, McElroy, Paul Scheer, Zeno Robinson, Colton Dunn and Anna Akana. The series premieres with a week of new episodes airing daily from June 18-22 as part of Disney Channel's GO! Summer that super-serves kids and families all season with new programming. After that, new episodes will premiere throughout the summer on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. In addition, Big City Greens shorts will begin rolling out Saturday, June 16, on Disney Channel and Disney Channel YouTube. The DisneyNOW app will also unveil its first multiplayer game, Big City Battle!, where players compete against each other to earn their place as members of the Green family. The Houghton brothers serve as executive producers alongside Rob Renzetti (Gravity Falls), with Monica Ray (Harvey Beaks) and Natasha Kline (South Park) as directors. (Hollywood Reporter)
CW Executives on Sunday Strategy, Reduced Ad Loads and Passing on 'Supernatural' Spinoff. Mark Pedowitz and his CW exec fielded questions from the press about their fall schedule ahead of the CW upfront presentation Thursday morning. Rather than focus on his five new series, the press grilled CW president Mark Pedowitz about his decision to expand his programming from five nights to six a week. Come fall, The CW will open up Sunday nights, which will feature the original scripted programming pairing of Supergirl and Charmed. To hear Pedowitz tell it, it was important to have both an established returning series (the former) and a brand-name new one (the latter) as it would help do some of the heavy lifting in marketing the network as well as the shows on the night. Choosing series as high-profile as he did also served as a powerful signal to advertisers and affiliates alike that The CW was committed to Sundays. As for the broader decision to add the night, Pedowitz made clear during his half-hour call with reporters ahead of his network's upfront presentation Thursday morning that the more programming that The CW has, the better off the business is. "It was also a statement that we do believe in broadcast," he told reporters. "We want to stake a claim that we want to grow as others contract." As Pedowitz sees it, the ability to expand to 12 hours in the fall was a sign of confidence from The CW affiliates, parent companies and business model, which has been boosted of late care of a lucrative SVOD deal with Netflix. Which is not to say the move to Sundays will come easy. Later in the call, his marketing chief Rick Haskins noted that the marketing push -- for the new night as well as the shows -- would begin early. In fact, he revealed that the stars of Charmed and Supergirl would be busy recording promos for "CW Sundays" next week to air on the local stations as soon as possible; a national campaign will come closer to air. The remainder of The CW's time with the press featured a hodgepodge of topics, including two questions about the decision not to pick up the female-led Supernatural spinoff Wayward Sisters. Pedowitz reiterated that while he was a fan of both the characters and the women playing them, he felt that the product, in its current form, wasn't as strong creatively as those pilots that he did pick up. As for the departure of Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend after this coming season, Pedowitz suggested that the hour-long light comedy genre that the pairing established was one he was committed to continuing. He also praised the two shows as well as iZombie for helping change the perception of his network, and then added that he would love to have new fare from the affected talent as early as the 2019-20 season. Also included in the call was a considerably more frank synopsis of the ad marketplace by The CW's EVP network sales Rob Tuck. Asked to address the network's strategy with regards to reducing ad time and charging premiums for those reduced ad loads, which media buyers have heard a lot about from other netowrks this week, Tuck stated that his network had no formalized plans to do so at this time. "The buzz around the industry right now is beginning to get the real sense of the cost of doing limited commercial runs, and the clients, most of the clients, are hesitant on the premium that would be pushed back towards them," he said. "So, we're certainly open to trying to figure out these things in the future, but I think the clients are speaking." (Hollywood Reporter)
Suzanne Scott Named CEO of Fox News. Jay Wallace will serve as president of Fox News. Suzanne Scott has been promoted to serve as chief executive officer of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, it was announced Thursday morning. The announcement was made by Lachlan Murdoch, who on Wednesday was named as chairman of CEO of what will become New Fox once Disney's acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox goes through. Jack Abernethy, who served as co-president of Fox News, will remain CEO of FOX Television Stations. Jay Wallace has been upped to serve as president of Fox News. Wallace, a Fox News original, had served as president of news. (Hollywood Reporter)
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