The NFL Pro Bowl — the pro football league’s annual all-star game pitting the best from the AFC and NFC — will transition into but one part of “The Pro Bowl Games” starting in 2023. Paramount to that change-up, the game played at the end of Pro Bowl week will now, officially, be a flag football contest involving no proper tackling.
Jimmy Kimmel is no longer vacillating. The comedian is staying in late-night after extending his contract with ABC for a further three years. The deal ends a year of speculation within the latenight community after Kimmel told Howard Stern that he was debating whether to stick or twist. The pact will keep Kimmel as host and exec producer of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! through its 23rd season. January 2023 will mark the 20th anniversary of the show, which premiered in January 2003.
NFL ratings are booming in just about every timeslot this season, and Monday Night Football is no exception. It kicked off on September 12 and drew 19.8 million total viewers, its biggest audience since 2009. Now, the Disney franchise is mixing things up with an eye toward opening up even more advertising opportunities. Two games will air at overlapping times tonight on ABC and ESPN, a twist on the back-to-back doubleheaders that aired for more than a decade in Week 1 on ESPN.
As marketer interest in other TV programming declines, demand for pro football continues its upward trajectory and has had a knock-on effect for other leagues like the NBA and NHL.
To Kill 10 O’Clock Primetime, What Is NBC Really Thinking?
NBC has floated the idea of shrinking back primetime and giving back the 10 p.m. hour to local news. Would it be a shrewd move or just another sign of the network’s slavish prioritizing of Peacock?
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The new season (which premieres Sunday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. ET) will double the weekly prize money awarded to its contestants. Its first-place prize, given to the funniest or most unique clip, will now be upped to $20,000. Second place will take home $6,000, and third place will bank $4,000. Per usual, the first-place winners will then move on compete for $100,000 and the grand prize vacation package.
A Million Little Things‘ endgame is in sight. The ABC drama’s creator, DJ Nash, is crafting the series’ upcoming fifth season as its last. ABC is not commenting, but TVLine was told the decision to bring the show to a creatively satisfying conclusion was made mutually between Nash, the network and ABC Signature/Kapital Entertainment.
The series, from 20th Television and A Million Little Things alum Julia Cohen, is slated for the network’s midseason schedule.
For the second year in a row, The View is the most-watched daytime talk show across both network and syndication. The ABC series ranked No. 1 in both households and total viewers for the 2021-22 television season. Its 1.7 rating topped all other network and syndicated daytime talk shows, tying with Dr. Phil in households and netting an average of 2.411 million total viewers for the season, according to Nielsen.
The Ramon Rodriguez-led drama is based on Karin Slaughter’s book series.
ABC’s freshman comedy series Abbott Elementary dominated the 2022 TCA Awards, which recognized the best television offerings from the 2021-2022 season as voted on by members of the Television Critics Association. Abbott won four awards in total: Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, Outstanding New Program, Individual Achievement in Comedy for series creator/producer/writer/star Quinta Brunson and the TCA’s Program of the Year award.
Farah Griffin fills the chair left empty when Meghan McCain quit last summer after four years on the show. Farah Griffin is a communications strategist who worked as a spokesperson at the Pentagon and for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during the last administration. Navarro, a familiar face as a frequent guest host at The View since 2015, was officially named as an addition to the show’s group of five hosts.
Pompeo will appear in eight episodes of the upcoming 19th season, which is now starting production. She will continue to narrate (but may not do voiceover in every episode) and will remain an executive producer on the hugely popular medical drama, which remains ABC’s top scripted series. The scale-back comes as Pompeo takes on her first role other than Meredith Grey in almost two decades — she is set to star in Hulu’s Orphan limited series.
Former cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck is temporarily returning to The View as its resident conservative voice. Hasselbeck was on the show from 2003 to 2013, coinciding with the show’s seasons 7-16. She is expected to return on Aug. 3 as a temporary seat-filler until a permanent conservative is found.
The co-hosts of ABC’s The View on Wednesday issued an apology for statements made Monday about protesters outside an event hosted by the conservative activist group Turning Post USA. “We want to make clear that these demonstrators were outside the event and that they were not invited or endorsed by Turning Point USA,” host Sara Haines said during Wednesday’s show.
On his 100th birthday, ABC is giving Norman Lear a present. The network will celebrate Lear’s life and career with a two-hour special in September. Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter will feature celebrity guests and musical performances paying homage to the legendary TV producer. Done + Dusted will produce the special.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, the former Trump White House director of strategic communications, is in final talks to join The View as the new conservative co-host of the daytime talk show. Multiple sources say that ABC executives have chosen Farah Griffin, 33, to join The View for its 26th season, which kicks off in the fall.
Emmys: Why Do Broadcast Networks Want To Air Their Own Funeral?
The Hollywood Reporter’s awards columnist explores the plummeting Emmys presence of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, which take turns airing the awards show.
Abbott Elementary has been a breakout for ABC, drawing strong ratings and critical acclaim, and it recently made Emmy history. The school comedy created, executive produced by and starring Quinta Brunson continues to make waves by scoring a rare full-season, 22-episode order for Season 2.
A writer and actress named Christine Davis claims the Emmy-nominated series copies the premise of her show This School Year.
Joy Behar’s rep has shut down rumors that the star is set to quit The View ahead of her 80th birthday in October. “Fake news,” her rep said Tuesday, revealing that Behar has signed another three-year deal with ABC. The new contract will keep her tied to the network until 2025. It’s unclear how much money ABC forked over for Behar, although it’s likely that it’s paying the controversial comedian a handsome, eight-figure sum.
ABC is looking ahead to its next live-action TV adaptation of a beloved Disney property. Hamish Hamilton will direct a live-action/animation hybrid production of Beauty and the Beast. Jon M. Chu, director of the upcoming Wicked movie, has been tapped to executive-produce. The event — which will air Thursday, Dec. 15, on ABC, then will be available to stream on Disney+ the next day — is in celebration of the film’s 30th(ish) anniversary.
How much promotional time do ABC, CBS and NBC have in primetime? A fascinating analysis from the Promax Station Summit shows how many promos they have and how they divide the time between all their priorities.
ABC has announced what it’s calling “unlocked” streaming channels, including localized ones in the major markets where it owns stations. The network website, ABC.com, has also been retooled to better emphasize these offerings. The new 24-hour streams are available for free without any sign-in required, the network announced today.
Hearst Media Production Group (HMPG), an independent producer and distributor of original programming, today announced the launch of the fourth season of Hearts of Heroes, the award-winning program showcasing the heroic work […]
Abbott Elementary stars Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph will host the 38th annual awards show, the critics group announced Monday. The ceremony, set to take place Aug. 6 in Pasadena, marks the first in-person show since 2019. The hosting selection comes as Abbott Elementary led the pack of nominations with five mentions, including the prestigious program of the year and new program.
The network announced dates for its Hilary Swank drama Alaska Daily and The Rookie spin-off Feds, along with the rest of its fall slate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another sign America’s entertainment landscape is returning to normal: President Joe Biden will make his first in-person appearance on a latenight talk show since taking office. Biden […]
As the head of Capital Cities Communications, he engineered the acquisition of the TV giant. He later sold the company to Disney, at a huge profit. Murphy was 96. (AP photo/Bebeto Matthews)
One of the longest-tenured ABC/ABC Signature executives, Stephanie Leifer, is leaving her post as EVP current programming for ABC Signature after combined 28 years at the studio and ABC. Leifer has served as head of current programming at ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios, and predecessor ABC Studios since 2010, overseeing all current series.
Primaries are now well underway, and the 2022 midterm elections are a focus for news organizations already preparing for what’s certain to be a contentious 2024 presidential campaign. With that in mind, The Hollywood Reporter highlights some of the Beltway-based news personalities and executives poised to play a leading role in the months (and years) ahead.
There were constant reminders of the diminished influence of broadcast television networks this past week, when entertainment companies Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal and Fox hawked their upcoming wares to advertisers in flashy New York presentations. None was more glaring than the fact that Craig Erwich and Kelly Kahl, chiefs of the ABC and CBS entertainment divisions, watched from the sidelines. (Image: Associated Press)
The third iteration of the XFL has found a TV home. The league and Disney have struck a global rights deal that will see all XFL regular season and playoff games running on ESPN, ABC and — in its first sports rights deal since becoming part of Disney — FX. The spring football league is set to begin play in 2023.
ABC’s breakout comedy Abbott Elementary will move to a new night — and a prime location on the network’s schedule — in the fall. The show will anchor the network’s Wednesday comedy block, moving into the 9 p.m. slot. ABC’s lineup to start the 2022-23 season will feature a pair of new dramas in The Rookie: Feds and the Hilary Swank-led Alaska, along with a Celebrity Jeopardy game show on Sunday nights. The network is also making a big bet on Bachelor in Paradise, which will air on both Monday and Tuesday nights — replacing the Disney+-bound Dancing With the Stars on Mondays.
The surprise of Magnum P.I. getting cut by CBS is due in part to the fact that broadcasters have sharply cut down on cancellations in the past two seasons.
The Disney-backed broadcast network has passed on the sequel that featured original cast members Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen. Additionally, Jo Koy comedy Josep will also not move forward this season, though sources say the network remains high on the concept and could redevelop the comedy.
The network has handed series orders to three shows for next season, led by The Rookie: Feds, an offshoot of the Nathan Fillion-led ABC procedural. Also coming to ABC next season: Not Dead Yet, a comedy starring Jane the Virgin alum Gina Rodriguez as Nell, “a broke and newly single self-described disaster,” per the official description. Plus, ABC ordered Alaska, a drama starring Oscar winner Hilary Swank as a disgraced reporter who moves from New York to join a daily newspaper in Anchorage, Alaska, “on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.
Bucking this week’s cancellation trend, ABC on Friday renewed all five of its remaining scripted bubble shows. For those keeping track at home, that includes dramas Big Sky (for Season 3) and A Million Little Things (for Season 5), as well as comedies The Conners (for Season 5), Home Economics (for Season 3) and The Wonder Years (for Season 2).
