News

Exclusive: Nancy Travis and Felix Avitia are set as the final two series regulars in Grosse Pointe Garden Society, NBC‘s drama pilot from Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. They join previously announced Melissa Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb, Ben Rappaport, Matthew Davis, Alexander Hodge and Aja Naomi King

The drama follows four members of a suburban garden club — Birdie (Fumero), Alice (Robb), Brett (Rappaport) and Catherine (King) — all from different walks of life, who get caught up in murder and mischief as they struggle to make their conventional lives bloom.

Travis plays Patty, Doug’s (Hodge) overbearing mother and Alice’s (Robb) nightmare mother-in-law. She is a social climber dying for a grandchild and has no problem getting into Alice and Doug’s business about why they’re taking so long.

Avitia portrays Ford, Joel (Davis) and Misty’s son. An uninspired student with no direction,...

Van Partible's animated series "Johnny Bravo" debuted on the Cartoon Network on July 14, 1997. It was one of four new shows that Cartoon Network premiered in 1997 and 1998 that served as a declaration for a new creator-forward direction the network was taking. "Johnny Bravo" debuted alongside Genndy Tartakovsky's "Dexter's Laboratory," David Feiss' "Cow and Chicken," and Craig McCracken's "The Powerpuff Girls." In 1999, that lineup would be complemented by "Ed, Edd n Eddy," and "Courage the Cowardly Dog." These shows were all quirky and idiosyncratic and attracted a generation of fans.

"Johnny Bravo" was about a barrel-chested, Elvis-voiced lug who lived with his mother and attempted to find love in the big city. His buffoonery and vanity, however, usually kept him single. Johnny was played by prolific voice actor Jeff Bennett, who has been acting professionally since 1991. Van Partible had been working on a version of the show as early...

Meghan Markle treated the kids at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to a surprise visit in March and footage has been released!

The Duchess of Sussex participated in the hospital’s month-long campaign, Make March Matter, by treating patients and staff to a very special Literally Healing story time on March 21.

Meghan used her acting skills to voice the characters in books like “Rosie the Riveter,” “Pete the Cat,” and “I Saw a Cat.”

Chla’s Literally Healing is an innovative reading program that gifts families at Chla more than 65,000 books annually and provides a unique opportunity to promote literacy, as well as supports and strengthens patients’ families through additional therapeutic literary resources.

Head inside to watch the video footage…

The appearance took place one day before Kate Middleton made her public statement about her cancer diagnosis. Read what Meghan said in response to the news.

Watch the video footage of Meghan below!

Exclusive: Veteran animation producer Rick Mischel has formed a studio in Canada after acquiring Yeti Farm Creative Animation Studio.

Artists Animation Studio will be headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia. Mischel, a Sony and Technicolor producer and exec, will be CEO of the venture and its founder. He completed the deal through his Reach Media vehicle. Financial details were not revealed.

The studio will be located the former Yeti Farm facility and will offer full-scale animation services and access to British Columbia’s Canadian tax credit incentives. It will primarily focus on 2D Harmony and hand-drawn animation for children’s and adult animation series, films, adverts and digital content.

Yeti Farm Creative Animation Studio’s co-founder Todd Ramsay (Hotel Transylvania: The Series, Angry Birds) will join Artists Animation Studio as Head of Animation, while another Yeti Farm co-founder, Ashley Ramsay, is departing “to pursue new opportunities.”

Dan Christman (Agent Elvis, Invincible) has joined as supervising producer,...

Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, the Emmy Award-winning co-creator and executive producer of “Phineas and Ferb,” will join his longtime creative partner Dan Povenmire to executive produce and voice direct two new seasons of the popular animated series announced earlier this year.

“Phineas and Ferb,” which first premiered in 2008 and ran for four seasons, became the most successful animated series for kids ages 6 to 11 and tweens ages 9 to 14 in Disney Television Animation history, spanning 126 episodes, five one-hour specials including a musical and two hit movies about resourceful stepbrothers who conquer boredom and make every day of their summer vacation count. The first of the two television movies it inspired, “Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension,” ranked in TV’s Top 2 movies for 2011.

Marsh, a musician, animator, writer, producer, director, and voice actor who originated the role of Major Francis Monogram in the series, wrote more than 450 original songs with Povenmire encompassing pop,...

Exclusive: Alcon Entertainment has appointed former MGM executive Steven Johnson as EVP, Head of Physical Production.

Johnson comes to Alcon following two and a half years at MGM International Television, where he served as Senior Vice President of Physical Production. He will now oversee physical production for all Alcon projects across film, TV and documentary, including the Prime Video limited series Blade Runner 2099 under showrunner Silka Luisa, the animated feature Garfield starring Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson for Sony Pictures, Denis Villeneuve’s feature Rendezvous With Rama, based on the classic Arthur C. Clarke novel, and its upcoming docuseries on legendary basketball coach John Thompson.

“Steven’s unique experience across all sectors of production over the past 20+ years gives him tremendous perspective and expertise and we look forward to him bringing his vast experience to Alcon,” said the company’s co-founders and co-CEOs, Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

Alcon Sleeping Giant (a joint venture between Alcon Entertainment and Sleeping Giant Media) and Surfer Jack Studios has announced the creation of Surfing Giant Studios and Surfing Giant Studios Europe.

Surfing Giant Studios, founded by “Phineas and Ferb” producer Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, Grammy nominated music writer and producer Michael Hodges and Alcon Chief Operating Officer Scott Parish, will serve as full-service production and animation studio based in Santa Monica.

The studios will also have a Europe-based studio in Altrincham, U.K.

In a statement, Parish said, “When Asg’s music-driven company partnered with Swampy’s Surfer Jack on ‘Pete the Cat’ it became obvious the combined talent and services of these companies offered a unique opportunity to create a full-service animation company, including the ability to bring highly visible music stars in as collaborators and create original songs that enhance the content.”

Hodges added, “I am deeply excited about this endeavor.

Exclusive: Alcon Entertainment has joined Rtg Features and May 3rd Films for their upcoming docuseries on legendary basketball coach John Thompson.

Alcon is co-financing and co-producing alongside Rtg, the sister studio to global basketball media leader Slam, with Kirk Fraser (ESPN 30 for 30‘s Without Bias) directing and producing via his company, May 3rd. Also coming aboard the project as writer and creative producer is Jesse Washington, who collaborated with Thompson on his autobiography, I Came As a Shadow.

Passing away in late 2020, aged 78, Thompson was a pioneer credited with opening the door for a generation of African-American head coaches, with his commitment to education, racial justice and women’s rights setting him apart from his peers. He coached the Georgetown University men’s basketball team for almost 30 years, taking them to three Final Four appearances and one national championship, with his 1984 title being the first claimed by a Black head coach in college basketball.

March will see the return of a fan-favorite series, the launch of a spinoff of a fan-favorite series and a handful of noteworthy films added to Amazon Prime Video.

Below, we’ve assembled a complete list of what’s new on Amazon Prime Video in March, and it includes the highly anticipated second season of the sci-fi comedy series “Upload,” which premieres March 11. Additionally, the new series “The Boys Presents: Diabolical” premieres on March 4 and promises eight all-new animated stories set within the R-rated superhero world of “The Boys.”

Also on March 4, the Amy Poehler-directed documentary “Lucy and Desi” premieres, chronicling the relationship between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

In terms of library titles, March 1 brings the Ryan Reynolds-Sandra Bullock rom-com “The Proposal,” the classic “Dead Poets Society,” the sci-fi “Alien” prequel “Prometheus,” the comedy spoof “Spaceballs” and a number of other films to the streaming service.

Look, not every month is gonna be full of bangers. Amazon Prime Video’s list of new releases for March 2022 is extremely light but still has a couple of good options for streaming obsessives.

The biggest title this month is undoubtedly The Boys Presents: Diabolical on March 4. This series presents eight different stories set in The Boys‘ universe, all offered up by different writers. Since each of the eight mini-episodes are animated, it’s probably fair to say this is The Boys‘ Animatrix. Call it the “Anivought”.

Read more TV The Boys Season 3: Herogasm Will Be The TV Event of the Summer By Alec Bojalad TV How The Boys Pulled Off Its Wildest Episode By Bryan Cairns

Also arriving on March 4 is season 2 of the high concept comedy Upload. Set in a digital afterlife, this series created by The Office‘s Greg Daniels asks some big questions about where technology is taking us.

Exclusive: Alcon Television Group has stepped up with a preemptive bid to snap up the rights to the Battle Chasers fantasy comic book series from prolific comic book artist Joe Madureira, which will be developed as a live-action TV series with John Wick creator Derek Kolstad attached to write and executive produce. The pact comes on the heels of the recent announcement that the popular comic series will return with a 10th installment after a 20-year hiatus.

Set in an arcane punk world, Battle Chasers follows a ragtag group of heroes: a disgraced, heartbroken swordsman, a cynical thief, a cranky wizard, a war machine with a kind heart, and a young girl whose missing father left her a pair of powerful magic gloves well beyond her capabilities. They must come together, despite their many, many differences, to stop a dark force rising in the land.

“As a storyteller–as well...

Mark Hamill and Lupita Nyong’o were among the winners on Saturday night as the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced the winners of the 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in the children’s and animation categories. The show represented the second of three Daytime Emmy ceremonies this year; the third will be live streamed on Sunday.

Nyong’o won the limited performance in a children’s program Emmy for playing the Storyteller, in Netflix’s “Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. Hammil was named outstanding performer in a preschool animated program for Disney Channel’s “Elena of Avalor.”

This represented the first year that all children’s programming, regardless of timeslot, shifted to the Daytime Emmys, under a new agreement between New York-based NATAS and L.A.-based Television Academy.

The children’s and animation Daytime Emmy winners were announced via NATAS’ Emmy Ott platform, featuring more than 30 categories. Daytime...

As famous as Mark Hamill is for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” franchise (he’s even a Primetime Emmy contender this year for playing him in “The Mandalorian”), he’s just as accomplished as a voice actor. This year he’s nominated for Best Performer in a Preschool Animated Program at the Daytime Emmys for his work in “Elena of Avalor.” This is only his third nomination to date. Can he finally win?

SEE2021 Daytime Emmy nominations, round 2! Full list of nominees for children’s, animation, lifestyle and more

“Elena of Avalor” is a Disney Channel animated series that follows the title princess as she learns how to rule her fairy tale kingdom. It ended its run last August after three seasons, and Hamill is nominated for guest starring in the series finale episode, “Coronation Day,” as the villainous Vuli, one of the Four Shades of Awesome who threaten Avalor.

Syfy’s Tzgz weekly late-night animation block continues to expand its slate, with a six-episode series order to holiday comedy The Pole. The series, starring Bobby Moynihan and Jillian Bell, hails from Future Man writers Matthew Bass and Theodore Bressman, and Yeti Farm Creative. Cast also includes series regular Nicole Byer, and recurring cast members SungWon Cho, Colin Jost, Tim Simons and Sasheer Zamata. It’s expected to debut on Tzgz in 2021.

In The Pole, after a scandal involving “Saint” Nick (Moynihan) rocks the holly jolly foundations of the North Pole, all hell breaks loose as the future of Christmas turns into a twisted power struggle for the Red Suit. As Nick, the 20th to wear the Suit, struggles with the age-old question of naughty vs. nice, his wife Mrs. Claus, aka Gretchen (Bell), works to keep the political machine that is toy production afloat.

Exclusive: Syfy continues the rapid slate expansion of its Tzgz weekly late-night animation block with one more series orders and three pilot greenlights.

Tzgz is going two-for-two with with its first internally developed animated pilots ordered in January, the 15-minute Wild Life and Devil May Care. Syfy has given a seven-episode series pickup to Devil May Care, starring Alan Tudyk (SyFy’s Resident Alien) and Asif Ali (BoJack Horseman). It follows the six-episode series order for Wild Life in April.

The newly greenlighted 15-minute Tzgz pilots are The Chronicles of Frank, From ShadowMachine, The Black Hole from Starburns Industries, and The Pole, from Yeti Farm Creative,

Airing on Syfy every Saturday at midnight-ish, Tzgz is a 90-minute block of adult comedic, animated, genre-based programming of varying lengths. Since its November 2019 debut, Tzgz has grown...

Amazon has been making strides as a major streaming platform for a couple of years now. But the business has been turned upside down and streaming giants are being forced to rethink their strategies with respect to how they offer their programming. Now Amazon has announced that it will provide free streaming access to more than 40 children's shows, some of which are original series, to worldwide customers.

In the past, the streaming content would be hidden behind a paywall, only accessible to Prime Video customers, which not every potential viewer is in a position to buy a subscription for. But with more and more families staying cooped up, with dwindling funds and children desperate for any kind of distraction, Amazon has freed up a lot of its kid-friendly programming as a gesture of goodwill.

The available shows include Just Add Magic, Pete the Cat, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,...

Netflix has delayed the return of Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj, which was forced to halt production due to the coronavirus. Volume 6 of the Daily Show alum’s political talk show was set to debut with weekly episodes this Sunday, March 29.

Minhaj made the announcement in a video on Monday:

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An update for all the @patriotact fans. pic.twitter.

Amazon is making a host of kids' and family programs available for free to all its customers as millions of children are unable to go to school due to coronavirus quarantines.

The tech behemoth has lifted the paywall for original and acquired children's series on its Prime Video platform, so that all Amazon users can view them with or without a Prime membership.

Among the titles now available for free are original shows including Pete the Cat, Just Add Magic, Costume Quest, Peg + Cat and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and acquired shows including PBS Kids staples Daniel ...

Jordan Peele’s upcoming show “Hunters” is among the slew of new movies and TV series that will be added to Amazon Prime Video next month.

Peele executive produced “Hunters,” a drama following a group of Nazi hunters in New York City in 1977. The first season, created by David Weil, stars Al Pacino, Logan Lerman and Kate Mulvany.

On the film front, Amazon Prime will add a mix of critical favorites and popcorn flicks like “Dick Tracy,” “Magic Mike,” and “Precious.” Recently released movies such as “47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” “The Farewell” and “Honey Boy” will also become available to stream on the platform later in the month.

See everything coming to Amazon Prime Video in February below:

Feb. 1

Beat the Devil

Bridget Jones’s Diary

Buffalo ‘66

Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter

Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin’

Crashing Through Danger

Dick Tracy

Earth Girls Are Easy

Emergency Landing

Father Steps...

Exclusive: Dog Man, the canine-human superhero of a popular kids book series by best-selling Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey, is getting the stage musical treatment. Emmy Award winning duo Kevin Del Aguila and Brad Alexander are on board to write Dog Man: The Musical, with Jen Wineman directing the world premiere staging for the not-for-profit TheaterWorksUSA at an Off Broadway theater this summer.

TheaterWorksUSA, in partnership with Writers House and Scholastic, have secured the rights to adapt the worldwide bestseller for the stage. The announcement was made today by TheaterWorksUSA artistic director Barbara Pasternack and managing director Michael Harrington.

Producers described Dog Man: The Musical as “a hilarious new musical based on the bestselling book series by Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey featuring a lovable crime-biting canine who is part dog, part man, and all hero.” The production is designed for children 6 and up.

The world premiere staging will run...

Jacob Tremblay's stock keeps rising 'cause he keeps landing big roles ... like his next one in the sequel to "The Shining." The 12-year-old star child actor has scored a $100k deal to appear in the next movie based on Stephen King's work, tentatively titled "Doctor Sleep." It's slated to premiere in 2020 and it's got a star-studded cast that includes Ewan McGregor.  Jacob's not even a teenager and already he's landed some big roles...

Ted Melfi and Kimberly Quinn’s production company Goldenlight Films has signed a first-look deal with Alcon Television Group. The two-year pact will see the Hidden Figures and St Vincent director write, direct, supervise, and produce original projects for Alcon. The deal includes all content created and developed by Melfi and Quinn for TV including digital.

Alcon Television Group’s projects include the upcoming animated children’s series Pete the Cat based on the bestselling books, set to bow on Amazon next month, and The Expanse, which resumes with its Season 4 next year also on Amazon.

“We are thrilled to partner with the incredible team at Goldenlight Films,” Alcon Television Group president Laura Lancaster said. “Their commitment to creating thoughtful, inspired, and socially relevant content that appeals to a varied audience is an extraordinary opportunity for Alcon Television Group as we continue to expand our slate.”

Melfi last directed and...

Amazon Studios has greenlit production on Do, Re & Mi, an animated musical series for preschoolers, from Kristen Bell, Jackie Tohn, Michael Scharf (Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation), Ivan Askwith (Veronica Mars) and Gaumont. The 52-episode 11-minute series will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories.

Created by Tohn and Scharf, Do, Re & Mi is about three birdy best friends named Do, Re & Mi who live in a world filled with rhythm, beats and melodies. Along with their day-to-day adventures, the characters model ways for parents and young kids to talk about music and connect these ideas to their social-emotional development. Every episode ends in a song, featuring original tracks performed by Bell (Frozen), Tohn, and other surprise guests.

Bell, Tone, Scharf and Askwith executive produce. Emmy-nominated Corey Powell is serving as showrunner.

New titles available on Amazon Prime next month include Amazon original series like “Six Dreams” Season 1, the second half of “Wishenproof” Season 2, “Pete the Cat” Season 1, “Forever” Season 1 and “King Lear” Season 1.

Some classic comedies will also become available in September, like the original “Ghostbusters,” “Jerry Maguire,” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” In more of a dramatic mood as the weather shifts? Dramas like “Sleepless in Seattle” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan should do the trick.

Other movies arriving include newer flicks “Future World,” “Beirut,” “Strangers Prey at Night,” “Pistorius,” “Stronger,” “On Chesil Beach,” “My Little Pony,” “Hot Summer Night,” “Escape Plan 2,” “Jigsaw” and “Suburbicon.”

Also Read: Amazon Explores Acquisition of Landmark Theatres (Report)

See below for the complete list.

September Tbd

*King Lear, Season 1 (Prime Original series)

Sept. 1

Series

Asylum, Season 1

The Blue Rose, Season 1

The Broker’s Man, Seasons 1-2

The Field of Blood, Seasons 1-2

Golden,...

In today’s roundup, the TV Academy welcomed three new members to its board of directors, and “Killing Eve” announced Season 2 cast additions.

Casting

BBC America‘s “Killing Eve,” has welcomed three new cast members for its sophomore season. Newcomers Nina Sosanya, Edward Bluemel, and Julian Barratt will join returning cast members Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, and Fiona Shaw for Season 2. Sosanya and Bluemel have been cast as series regulars, while Barratt will guest star.

Season 2 of the Starz drama “Vida” has added two new cast members. “Looking’s” Raul Castillo and “Superstore’s” Adrian Gonzalez will join original stars Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada in recurring roles. Gonzalez will play Rudy, described as an L.A. city councilman who Lyn meets at a gym class, while Castillo will play Baco, the bar’s new handyman with a questionable past.

Dates

Amazon‘s new original animated series “Pete the Cat,...

Kids and parents have read about his new shoes and his groovy buttons, now Pete the Cat is coming to life in a new animated series. Amazon Studios today set a September 21 premiere date and released the first trailer for the show starring Jacob Tremblay as the voice of kidlit’s cool blue feline. Check it out above, along with the key art below.

Pete the Cat features original music from Grammy-winning spouses Elvis Costello and Diana Krall, who also voice Pete’s parents. Jessica Biel, Atticus Shaffer and musician KT Tunstall also star in the music-driven series about exploring your world and trying new things while being smart, accepting, and optimistic.

Season 1 of Pete the Cat highlights themes of self-discovery. Pete stays cool as he tries new things, sets out for picture day, writes his first song, learns to surf and even has his first performance for his band.