Programming

IndyCar’s current deal with NBC Sports is in its final season and contract negotiations are unclear. There have been reports Penske will take a higher rights fee from a new partner and that NBC has fallen out of the running on a renewal. Sam Flood, executive producer and president of production of NBC Sports, said Wednesday the network wants to keep the racing series.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Miami federal court, contends that Netflix intentionally misled Dershowitz, one of the lawyers once representing Epstein, regarding his appearance in the series Filthy Rich. The suit also claims Netflix defamed him by falsely asserting that he had sex with one of Epstein’s many victims.

Producers of the telecast announced Wednesday that the Tonys will be held Sept. 26 and will air on CBS as well as Paramount+. As if making up for lost time, the usual three-hour event has added a fourth hour.

NBCUniversal has already found its replacement for Ellen DeGeneres’ time slot when she exits daytime TV next year. Starting in fall 2022, The Kelly Clarkson Show will take over the afternoon time slot — 3 p.m. in most markets — that has been held by Ellen. The daytime talker, which is in its second season, is currently renewed through 2023.

NBC’s This Is Us closed out Season 5 with 5.1 million total viewers (ticking up week-to-week) and a steady, Tuesday-topping 0.8 demo rating. on CBS, NCIS (8.5M/0.7) was steady, easily delivering Tuesday’s biggest audience.

CBS’s All Rise closed out its second and final season on Monday with 3.2 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating, hitting and matching series lows. Fox’s 9-1-1 (6M/1.0) ticked up and led Monday in the demo.

The CBS drama has been on the air since 2003. Yet the 8.7 million people who watched last Tuesday’s episode was a bigger audience than anything else in primetime television last week. Plus, it also was No. 1 on Nielsen’s most recent streaming rankings. CBS was the most popular broadcast network last week, averaging 4.6 million viewers in primetime. NBC had 3.7 million, ABC had 3.5 million, Fox had 2.6 million, Univision had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 1 million. Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network with a 2.04 million average in primetime. MSNBC had 1.43 million, TNT had 1.39 million, ESPN had 1.38 million and HGTV had 1.12 million.

The Denver-based start-up Frndly TV is already profitable from consumers seeking a cheaper, “family-friendly” alternative to cable.

The broadcast networks are looking forward to a normal TV season this fall after a year upended by COVID delays and production shutdowns. All five of the major networks have released their full schedules, going light on new comedies and heavy on Dick Wolf. The super-producer will occupy nine full hours of programming across multiple networks every week as the FBI, Law & Order and Chicago franchises continue to expand.

The youth-skewing network will program the entire week for the first time and is going for a bumper unscripted slate across the weekend as it has originals on Saturday nights for the first time. The broadcaster is moving a slew of shows to new nights for the upcoming season including new spots for Riverdale, which is being paired with The Flash, Batwoman and Nancy Drew, with DC’s Legends of Tomorrow moving back to the fall after a midseason experiment.

Fellow soaps The Young and the Restless (CBS) and Days of Our Lives (NBC) scored 11 nods each, with CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful landing nine.

In the session ending May 16, access game show Family Feud grew 6% to a 5.6, its highest rating since the week of March 1 and took back the syndication lead from daytime juggernaut Judge Judy, which was second overall with a 5.3.

With advertising set to rebound, broadcasters shy away from taking risks on unfamiliar material after the pandemic accelerated audience declines. Above, a scene from CBS’s FBI: Most Wanted, one of three shows in the FBI franchise.

Audience members will have to provide proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 before attending shows at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater beginning June 14. Face masks will be optional.

The nearly $9 billion deal would turn a film operation founded in the silent era into a streaming asset for the e-commerce giant.

The CW has given the green light to two scripted series to join its 2021-22 slate: a spinoff of its drama All American and Naomi, based on a DC Comics title. A remake of The 4400 and competition series Legends of the Hidden Temple, which previously received series orders, will also join the broadcaster’s lineup next season.

After decades of game-to-film flops, a new effort, led by Sony, aims to adapt big PlayStation and Xbox franchises for movies and TV.