TV/STREAMING . . .
Spencer Pratt Really Wants Olivia Jade to Tell "Her Story" on The Hills. After The Hills: New Beginnings was renewed for a second season, Spencer Pratt says he knew "God's listening." So now he's saying another prayer in the hopes that his next wish comes true. In an interview with Daily Pop, the reality star shares that he is hoping to recruit Lori Loughlin's daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli. "I want to hear her story on the show," he explains to Justin Sylvester and Carissa Culiner. "I want to get down to the bottom of this." And it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Turns out that Olivia's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Jackson Guthy was Spencer's best man at his wedding for the OG The Hills in 2009. But, as Spencer points out, he is not totally recognizable since he "was a little kid at the time." If his goal to cast Olivia doesn't come to fruition, then Spencer will likely be fine with the show continuing as is. He says, "You know what, even though I dislike our whole cast, I love watching them." Although, he adds that personally, "Having to interact with them is horrible." But, of course, that's not all Spencer has to say. He then dips into the controversy surrounding Brody Jenner's unofficial marriage to Kaitlynn Carter. Apparently, Brody confessed that his marriage to Kaitlynn was never intended to be a legal bond, but simply symbolic. And, the cameras caught it all. "I hope it's in a deleted scene," he jokes. Heidi Montag chimes in, "Stay tuned!" Spencer and Heidi also tease the potential relationship between Brody and Audrina Patridge on season two, which could've made season one but it became "another deleted scene." In summary, things are heating up on The Hills: New Beginnings. (Eonline)
Kelly Ripa Claps Back at Instagram User Who Compared Her to a Cardboard Cutout: Everyone Else Is 'in Italy'. Kelly Ripa let rip after an Instagram user likened her to a "cardboard cutout," clapping back at the user and maintaining that she's "pretty exciting." The online back-and-forth played out in the comments of a Thursday, August 8, post by Jerry O'Connell, who hyped up the Live! With Kelly and Ryan host's upcoming appearance on his new talk show, Jerry O. "My friend @Kellyripa is my first guest! Submit your questions for Kelly in the comments and I may ask her your question on Monday, during the premiere of the @jerryoshow!" the Stand By Me actor, 45, wrote (Other upcoming quests on the show include O'Connell's wife, Rebecca Romijn, plus Parks and Recreation star Retta.) That's when the user chimed in, writing, "Why? There are so many interesting people out there who don't already have way too much time on tv, why her (or any other cardboard cutout tv person like seacrest etc.) Even you can't transcend the boringness of that kind of guest. Cruel disappointment." Ripa, 48, saw the disparaging comment and addressed the user directly. "Well Vanessa, it's August, so non cardboard cutout tv people are in Italy," she wrote. "And truth be told, I'm pretty exciting." But the user continued the critique: "I don't even watch much TV anymore, and when I watch a talk show, I consider it in very bad form for the show to grind down the audience with 'visiting hosts' from other shows I purposely did not tune into. It's not personal: you're surely as delightful a person as you were when you started with Regis and I did like you very much then: you just appear too much, like Seacrest, and, like him, with no film or book or platform or talent other than standing in a spotlight, and you're too professional not to know that. IMO." O'Connell's friendship with Ripa goes way back: He joined her as a guest co-host in multiple episodes of Live! With Kelly during the talk show's transition periods, and he interviewed her last year as he subbed in a guest host of The Wendy Williams Show. Jerry O premieres Monday, August 12. Check local listings for airtimes. (UsMagazine)
Stumptown Gives you Cobie Smulders Like You've Never Seen Her Before. Robin Scherbatsky who? How I Met Your Mother veteran Cobie Smulders is back on network TV as Dex Parios, the main character of ABC's new series Stumptown and E! News has your first look at the show's new posters that give you a sense that this is Smulders like you've never seen her before. In Stumptown, which also stars Jake Johnson, Tantoo Cardinal, Cole Sibus, Adrian Martinez, Camryn Manheim and Michael Ealy, Smulders plays a Marine veteran now working as a private investigator who is struggling with PTSD, personal loss and quite a bit of debt. "The role of Dex in this show -- I think when you go into something that could potentially, not to jinx anything, go for multiple seasons, you want to choose something that you're never going to be bored with, that's going to be challenging, that it's a character that you want to live with for a while. And I just fell in love with this character," Smulders said at the 2019 Television Critics Association press tour. "And there are certainly aspects of Scherbatsky in there, but it is a departure. Certainly, going from a multicam back to now a single cam, that's a very different process. It's a different beast. But it was more about finding something that I think would always be challenging and always interesting and fun to play rather than finding something a polar opposite or a genre that I really loved. I just want to be her for a while." The character is unlike one Smulders has played before, from the more physical nature of the role (however, she is a member of the Marvel family), to the romance and veteran status. "Yeah, she is bisexual and well, she's kind of speaking to the relationship and just this woman and her relationships in general, I don't think she can have one. Don't think she can be in a steady relationship. So, she's very much up for whatever the night presents," she said." Take a look at the new key art for the show above. Stumptown premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. on ABC. (Eonline)
Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater Cast in Dr. Death Series Based on Podcast. Major casting news! Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater are set to star in UCP's TV adaptation of Wondery's hit podcast Dr. Death. The project, which will be a limited series and is currently being shopped by UCP, is based on the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, who will be played by Dornan. The character is described as a young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, a man who was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed when patients were left dead. The series will explore the "twisted mind of a sociopath and the gross negligence of the system designed to protect the most defenseless among us," according to the announcement, released on Friday. Baldwin will play neurosurgeon Robert Henderson in the series, while Slater is set to play vascular surgeon Randall Kirby. The series is executive produced by Patrick Macmanus, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, as well as Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery. The series is based on Wondery's hit podcast Dr. Death, which has been listened to by over 50 million people. (Eonline)
The Dead Girls Detective Agency and More Snapchat Original Shows to Know About. Solving murders is a tough enough job. Solving your own murder is hauntingly difficult. That's the idea behind the popular Snap Original The Dead Girls Detective Agency, which returns for a third season on Sunday, Aug. 11 on Snapchat. Based on a series of young adult novels by Suzy Cox, this show first hit the extra-small screen in October of 2018. Since then, it has been a huge hit on the app and reached more than 14 million unique viewers during its first season. The series follows the main character, Charlotte, who is pushed in front of a subway in a tragic and mysterious murder. She then teams up with three other murdered teens to solve the mystery of her own death from the afterlife. The Dead Girls Detective Agency is just one of many Snap Originals that you can enjoy right in the app's Discover page. Watching is a breeze, and there are no subscriptions necessary. The genres of shows vary from true crime to comedy, so it is super easy to find a show you like. Some series even feature interactive elements to put yourself in the middle of the drama. The third season of The Dead Girls Detective Agency premiered Sunday, Aug. 11 on the Snapchat Discover page. (Eonline)
Why The Situation's Wedding Day Had the Jersey Shore Cast Predicting a "S -- t Show Disaster." The Sitch is hitched! The night's 2-hour Jersey Shore Family Vacation special brought fans along for Sorrentino and Lauren Pesce highly-anticipated wedding day, but much to the dismay of the bride and groom's loved ones, one guest threatened to ruin it all. Yes, we're talking about Ronnie Magro-Ortiz and girlfriend Jen Harley (evidently referred to as "Taters" by the cast), whose on-again, off-again relationship has seriously ticked off the wedding party. In the hours leading up to Mike and Lauren's "I do's," which took place last November, even Ronnie can't predict if his plus-one is going to show up. "I definitely think Jen and the baby being at the wedding is a good thing in my relationship," he says. "I want both of my families to mesh together. But every time I bring Jen around it becomes a big joke of some sort, so it's like I don't know what to do." And while Mike and Lauren aren't as worried about Jen/Taters showing up, Vinny Guadagnino and Pauly D have their eyes peeled for any drama. As Vinny puts it, "This is the recipe for a complete s--t show disaster. Now, not only are we on Ron spiral duty, we're also on Jen watch." "By being a groomsmen at this wedding" Pauly adds, "we accepted the responsibility to be on Ron spiral watch. I'll take that responsibility, but Jen? I can't be on Jen watch. I'm scared of that woman." The ceremony itself goes off without a hitch, and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenni "JWoww" Farley's daughters are basically the cutest flower girls of all time. Tears were shared, vows were exchanged, and Mike acknowledged the very bumpy road he took to find the love of his life. "Me standing her is very special, because I shouldn't be here today," he says. "And I'm here because of my beautiful bride. It's a miracle." Going into the reception, Jenni admits she's "paranoid" about having to confront Jen, who arrives with their daughter Ariana. But when forced to came to face with Ronnie's plus-one, Jenni and Snooki are able to exchange pleasantries and position themselves at the opposite end of the table. No stress, right? Not so fast...As Mike and Lauren prepare to properly greet their wedding guests and really get the party started, a look at next week's episode promises even more drama between the Jersey Shore roomies. Jersey Shore Family Vacation airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on MTV. (Eonline)
Here's what finally happens to Offred in The Handmaid's Tale... But you're going to have to wait to read it. Why is the world so obsessed with The Handmaid's Tale? Is it Elisabeth Moss' compelling performance as Offred? The mind-blowing plotlines that have kept us glued to our screens since 2017? Or the terrifying realization that this dystopian land is becoming our reality? The reasons are aplenty. The only problem is we literally can't satiate our appetite for more. And fortunately, we don't have to wait much longer with Margaret Attwood's sequel landing imminently. The Testaments is one of the most highly-anticipated novels of 2019. The brilliant sequel to the 1985 modern classic, which is unconnected to the second TV series, picks up fifteen years after we were left with a very ambiguous conclusion. Offred was taken away by the secret police of Gilead but it was unclear as to whether they were members of the understand resistance movement or if they were Mayday members in disguise as police. So, what can we expect from Attwood's newest novel? Well, prepare to enter unchartered territory as Margaret Atwood's vision of Gilead's future is revealed, and judging by the way she ominously predicted our future in the first novel, we may be about to get a frightening insight into what lies ahead. Narrated by three female characters, the Canadian poet and novelist gave readers a glimpse of what's to come: "Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in," she stated. She admits the results of the 2016 Presidential reaction have accelerated the popularity of the book and consequent TV series. "It wouldn't have worked as a show" she told Variety. "It wouldn't have worked the same way." So, in a strange turn of events, there is light amongst the darkness. The Testaments will be released on the 10th September. (British Glamour)
Criminal is the new Netflix show you'll be hooked on. David Tennant is back. Amongst the MANY epic Netflix shows released this Autumn, the one to have on your radar is Criminal. The police interrogation drama starring David Tennant and Hayley Atwell is the hit new police drama set to give Line of Duty a run for its money and we can't wait! It is possibly one of Netflix's most ambitious projects to date. Filmed in four languages across four different countries (France, Spain, Germany and the UK), the crime series comprises of 12 different stories, all of which take place within the confines of a police interrogation room. It has been described by Netflix as a "stripped-down, cat-and-mouse drama" that "focuses on the intense mental conflict between detectives and suspects." Further details on the 12 stories are yet to be released. David Tennant leads the UK cast alongside Avengers star Hayley Attwell and Clare-Hope Ashitey who starred in Doctor Foster. To top it off, Line of Duty's Rochenda Sandall and Lee Ingleby will be bringing their police expertise to the series. Stars from the other casts include Sara Giraudeau and Jeremie Renier for France, Carmen Machi and Eduard Fernandez for Spain and Peter Kurth and Christian Berkel for the German episodes. In the first trailer released by Netflix, the cast are seen having their mugshots taken followed by scenes of intense interrogation. If this teaser is anything to go by, Criminal looks like the perfect mash-up of all our favourite crime series (and there are A LOT of them). While each episode is written and directed by different individuals from their respective countries, the overall series producers are Eve's George Kay and Endeavour's Jim Field Smith. This can only mean one thing: the world is going to be Villanelle-style hooked. All 12 episodes will be aired on Netflix on 20th September. Oh, the tease! (British Glamour)
Discovery's 'Serengeti' Hits 6-Year Ratings High for TV Nature Docs (Exclusive). The Simon Fuller-produced docuseries becomes Sunday's most-watched cable telecast after three days of delayed viewing. Discovery's Serengeti has roared out of the gate in the ratings. The Aug. 4 premiere of the Simon Fuller-produced series pulled in the best rating (1.2, including three days of delayed viewing) among Discovery's core demographic of adults 25-54 for any nature documentary on Nielsen-measured TV in six years. The last nature doc to reach that mark was another Discovery show, North America. Sunday's airing racked up 3 million viewers after three days, up from 2.35 million for its initial airing (it was also simulcast on Animal Planet, Science Channel and Discovery en Espanol). That made it Sunday's most-watched cable program -- moving ahead of a NASCAR race on NBC Sports Network -- and the best series debut on Discovery in four years, since Naked and Afraid XL in summer 2015. Serengeti also led Sunday's cable charts among several key male demos: men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. The docuseries was also a big draw for family viewing: 18 percent of adults 25-54 watched the show with a child under age 12, double the usual average for Discovery. Fuller, best known as the creator of American Idol and manager of the Spice Girls, created and executive produces Serengeti with documentary veteran John Downer (Spy in the Wild). Discovery's Nancy Daniels and Howard Swartz also executive produce. The series comes from Fuller's XIX Entertainment and John Downer Productions. Discovery is co-presenting Serengeti with the BBC. (Hollywood Reporter)
Kelly Ripa Claps Back at Instagram User Who Compared Her to a Cardboard Cutout: Everyone Else Is 'in Italy'. Kelly Ripa let rip after an Instagram user likened her to a "cardboard cutout," clapping back at the user and maintaining that she's "pretty exciting." The online back-and-forth played out in the comments of a Thursday, August 8, post by Jerry O'Connell, who hyped up the Live! With Kelly and Ryan host's upcoming appearance on his new talk show, Jerry O. "My friend @Kellyripa is my first guest! Submit your questions for Kelly in the comments and I may ask her your question on Monday, during the premiere of the @jerryoshow!" the Stand By Me actor, 45, wrote (Other upcoming quests on the show include O'Connell's wife, Rebecca Romijn, plus Parks and Recreation star Retta.) That's when the user chimed in, writing, "Why? There are so many interesting people out there who don't already have way too much time on tv, why her (or any other cardboard cutout tv person like seacrest etc.) Even you can't transcend the boringness of that kind of guest. Cruel disappointment." Ripa, 48, saw the disparaging comment and addressed the user directly. "Well Vanessa, it's August, so non cardboard cutout tv people are in Italy," she wrote. "And truth be told, I'm pretty exciting." But the user continued the critique: "I don't even watch much TV anymore, and when I watch a talk show, I consider it in very bad form for the show to grind down the audience with 'visiting hosts' from other shows I purposely did not tune into. It's not personal: you're surely as delightful a person as you were when you started with Regis and I did like you very much then: you just appear too much, like Seacrest, and, like him, with no film or book or platform or talent other than standing in a spotlight, and you're too professional not to know that. IMO." O'Connell's friendship with Ripa goes way back: He joined her as a guest co-host in multiple episodes of Live! With Kelly during the talk show's transition periods, and he interviewed her last year as he subbed in a guest host of The Wendy Williams Show. Jerry O premieres Monday, August 12. Check local listings for airtimes. (UsMagazine)
Stumptown Gives you Cobie Smulders Like You've Never Seen Her Before. Robin Scherbatsky who? How I Met Your Mother veteran Cobie Smulders is back on network TV as Dex Parios, the main character of ABC's new series Stumptown and E! News has your first look at the show's new posters that give you a sense that this is Smulders like you've never seen her before. In Stumptown, which also stars Jake Johnson, Tantoo Cardinal, Cole Sibus, Adrian Martinez, Camryn Manheim and Michael Ealy, Smulders plays a Marine veteran now working as a private investigator who is struggling with PTSD, personal loss and quite a bit of debt. "The role of Dex in this show -- I think when you go into something that could potentially, not to jinx anything, go for multiple seasons, you want to choose something that you're never going to be bored with, that's going to be challenging, that it's a character that you want to live with for a while. And I just fell in love with this character," Smulders said at the 2019 Television Critics Association press tour. "And there are certainly aspects of Scherbatsky in there, but it is a departure. Certainly, going from a multicam back to now a single cam, that's a very different process. It's a different beast. But it was more about finding something that I think would always be challenging and always interesting and fun to play rather than finding something a polar opposite or a genre that I really loved. I just want to be her for a while." The character is unlike one Smulders has played before, from the more physical nature of the role (however, she is a member of the Marvel family), to the romance and veteran status. "Yeah, she is bisexual and well, she's kind of speaking to the relationship and just this woman and her relationships in general, I don't think she can have one. Don't think she can be in a steady relationship. So, she's very much up for whatever the night presents," she said." Take a look at the new key art for the show above. Stumptown premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. on ABC. (Eonline)
Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater Cast in Dr. Death Series Based on Podcast. Major casting news! Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater are set to star in UCP's TV adaptation of Wondery's hit podcast Dr. Death. The project, which will be a limited series and is currently being shopped by UCP, is based on the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, who will be played by Dornan. The character is described as a young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, a man who was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed when patients were left dead. The series will explore the "twisted mind of a sociopath and the gross negligence of the system designed to protect the most defenseless among us," according to the announcement, released on Friday. Baldwin will play neurosurgeon Robert Henderson in the series, while Slater is set to play vascular surgeon Randall Kirby. The series is executive produced by Patrick Macmanus, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, as well as Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery. The series is based on Wondery's hit podcast Dr. Death, which has been listened to by over 50 million people. (Eonline)
The Dead Girls Detective Agency and More Snapchat Original Shows to Know About. Solving murders is a tough enough job. Solving your own murder is hauntingly difficult. That's the idea behind the popular Snap Original The Dead Girls Detective Agency, which returns for a third season on Sunday, Aug. 11 on Snapchat. Based on a series of young adult novels by Suzy Cox, this show first hit the extra-small screen in October of 2018. Since then, it has been a huge hit on the app and reached more than 14 million unique viewers during its first season. The series follows the main character, Charlotte, who is pushed in front of a subway in a tragic and mysterious murder. She then teams up with three other murdered teens to solve the mystery of her own death from the afterlife. The Dead Girls Detective Agency is just one of many Snap Originals that you can enjoy right in the app's Discover page. Watching is a breeze, and there are no subscriptions necessary. The genres of shows vary from true crime to comedy, so it is super easy to find a show you like. Some series even feature interactive elements to put yourself in the middle of the drama. The third season of The Dead Girls Detective Agency premiered Sunday, Aug. 11 on the Snapchat Discover page. (Eonline)
Why The Situation's Wedding Day Had the Jersey Shore Cast Predicting a "S -- t Show Disaster." The Sitch is hitched! The night's 2-hour Jersey Shore Family Vacation special brought fans along for Sorrentino and Lauren Pesce highly-anticipated wedding day, but much to the dismay of the bride and groom's loved ones, one guest threatened to ruin it all. Yes, we're talking about Ronnie Magro-Ortiz and girlfriend Jen Harley (evidently referred to as "Taters" by the cast), whose on-again, off-again relationship has seriously ticked off the wedding party. In the hours leading up to Mike and Lauren's "I do's," which took place last November, even Ronnie can't predict if his plus-one is going to show up. "I definitely think Jen and the baby being at the wedding is a good thing in my relationship," he says. "I want both of my families to mesh together. But every time I bring Jen around it becomes a big joke of some sort, so it's like I don't know what to do." And while Mike and Lauren aren't as worried about Jen/Taters showing up, Vinny Guadagnino and Pauly D have their eyes peeled for any drama. As Vinny puts it, "This is the recipe for a complete s--t show disaster. Now, not only are we on Ron spiral duty, we're also on Jen watch." "By being a groomsmen at this wedding" Pauly adds, "we accepted the responsibility to be on Ron spiral watch. I'll take that responsibility, but Jen? I can't be on Jen watch. I'm scared of that woman." The ceremony itself goes off without a hitch, and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenni "JWoww" Farley's daughters are basically the cutest flower girls of all time. Tears were shared, vows were exchanged, and Mike acknowledged the very bumpy road he took to find the love of his life. "Me standing her is very special, because I shouldn't be here today," he says. "And I'm here because of my beautiful bride. It's a miracle." Going into the reception, Jenni admits she's "paranoid" about having to confront Jen, who arrives with their daughter Ariana. But when forced to came to face with Ronnie's plus-one, Jenni and Snooki are able to exchange pleasantries and position themselves at the opposite end of the table. No stress, right? Not so fast...As Mike and Lauren prepare to properly greet their wedding guests and really get the party started, a look at next week's episode promises even more drama between the Jersey Shore roomies. Jersey Shore Family Vacation airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on MTV. (Eonline)
Here's what finally happens to Offred in The Handmaid's Tale... But you're going to have to wait to read it. Why is the world so obsessed with The Handmaid's Tale? Is it Elisabeth Moss' compelling performance as Offred? The mind-blowing plotlines that have kept us glued to our screens since 2017? Or the terrifying realization that this dystopian land is becoming our reality? The reasons are aplenty. The only problem is we literally can't satiate our appetite for more. And fortunately, we don't have to wait much longer with Margaret Attwood's sequel landing imminently. The Testaments is one of the most highly-anticipated novels of 2019. The brilliant sequel to the 1985 modern classic, which is unconnected to the second TV series, picks up fifteen years after we were left with a very ambiguous conclusion. Offred was taken away by the secret police of Gilead but it was unclear as to whether they were members of the understand resistance movement or if they were Mayday members in disguise as police. So, what can we expect from Attwood's newest novel? Well, prepare to enter unchartered territory as Margaret Atwood's vision of Gilead's future is revealed, and judging by the way she ominously predicted our future in the first novel, we may be about to get a frightening insight into what lies ahead. Narrated by three female characters, the Canadian poet and novelist gave readers a glimpse of what's to come: "Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in," she stated. She admits the results of the 2016 Presidential reaction have accelerated the popularity of the book and consequent TV series. "It wouldn't have worked as a show" she told Variety. "It wouldn't have worked the same way." So, in a strange turn of events, there is light amongst the darkness. The Testaments will be released on the 10th September. (British Glamour)
Criminal is the new Netflix show you'll be hooked on. David Tennant is back. Amongst the MANY epic Netflix shows released this Autumn, the one to have on your radar is Criminal. The police interrogation drama starring David Tennant and Hayley Atwell is the hit new police drama set to give Line of Duty a run for its money and we can't wait! It is possibly one of Netflix's most ambitious projects to date. Filmed in four languages across four different countries (France, Spain, Germany and the UK), the crime series comprises of 12 different stories, all of which take place within the confines of a police interrogation room. It has been described by Netflix as a "stripped-down, cat-and-mouse drama" that "focuses on the intense mental conflict between detectives and suspects." Further details on the 12 stories are yet to be released. David Tennant leads the UK cast alongside Avengers star Hayley Attwell and Clare-Hope Ashitey who starred in Doctor Foster. To top it off, Line of Duty's Rochenda Sandall and Lee Ingleby will be bringing their police expertise to the series. Stars from the other casts include Sara Giraudeau and Jeremie Renier for France, Carmen Machi and Eduard Fernandez for Spain and Peter Kurth and Christian Berkel for the German episodes. In the first trailer released by Netflix, the cast are seen having their mugshots taken followed by scenes of intense interrogation. If this teaser is anything to go by, Criminal looks like the perfect mash-up of all our favourite crime series (and there are A LOT of them). While each episode is written and directed by different individuals from their respective countries, the overall series producers are Eve's George Kay and Endeavour's Jim Field Smith. This can only mean one thing: the world is going to be Villanelle-style hooked. All 12 episodes will be aired on Netflix on 20th September. Oh, the tease! (British Glamour)
Discovery's 'Serengeti' Hits 6-Year Ratings High for TV Nature Docs (Exclusive). The Simon Fuller-produced docuseries becomes Sunday's most-watched cable telecast after three days of delayed viewing. Discovery's Serengeti has roared out of the gate in the ratings. The Aug. 4 premiere of the Simon Fuller-produced series pulled in the best rating (1.2, including three days of delayed viewing) among Discovery's core demographic of adults 25-54 for any nature documentary on Nielsen-measured TV in six years. The last nature doc to reach that mark was another Discovery show, North America. Sunday's airing racked up 3 million viewers after three days, up from 2.35 million for its initial airing (it was also simulcast on Animal Planet, Science Channel and Discovery en Espanol). That made it Sunday's most-watched cable program -- moving ahead of a NASCAR race on NBC Sports Network -- and the best series debut on Discovery in four years, since Naked and Afraid XL in summer 2015. Serengeti also led Sunday's cable charts among several key male demos: men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. The docuseries was also a big draw for family viewing: 18 percent of adults 25-54 watched the show with a child under age 12, double the usual average for Discovery. Fuller, best known as the creator of American Idol and manager of the Spice Girls, created and executive produces Serengeti with documentary veteran John Downer (Spy in the Wild). Discovery's Nancy Daniels and Howard Swartz also executive produce. The series comes from Fuller's XIX Entertainment and John Downer Productions. Discovery is co-presenting Serengeti with the BBC. (Hollywood Reporter)
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