Vol. 17, No. 839, Thursday, August 13, 2015
Dick Wien, Editor / [email protected] / 212-975-5607
OUR CONTENT REMAINS KING
AT TCA SUMMER PRESS TOUR ... MORE
CBS, SHOWTIME AND THE CW ARE SHOWCASED
AT TCA SUMMER PRESS TOUR
On August 10 and 11, CBS, SHOWTIME and THE CW hosted their annual Summer Television Critics Association
Press Tour in Beverly Hills, CA. The Tour was attended by more than 200 representatives of the nation’s television,
radio and online media.
Nina Tassler at
Summer Press Tour.
Panels (at left) SUPERGIRL, ANGEL FROM
HELL, LIFE IN PIECES;
(at right) LIMITLESS and
CODE BLACK
CBS: In her opening remarks to the TCA gathering, CBS
Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler said: “We have a
very big year ahead at CBS. Let's start with the primetime shows. We have five freshman series for fall.
They're all very different, and each brings something new to potentially
build on the success. With CODE BLACK, for years we've been
(Continued on Page 2)
“THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN”
TO BE FIRST LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW TO FILM
ENTIRE EPISODE INSIDE YOUTUBE SPACE LA
On August 21, THE LATE LATE SHOW
with JAMES CORDEN will be the first
late night talk show to film an entire
episode inside YouTube Space LA,
when Corden interviews top YouTube
stars and participates in unique performances and stunts. The episode will fea-
Tassler went on to note that CBS’s new shows will be
launched during a period of “great excitment” in
September and throughout the fall with the arrival of
Stephen Colbert and the return of THURSDAY NIGHT
FOOTBALL. “We'll roll out the new shows in two phases,” she said. “LIFE IN PIECES, LIMITLESS, and CODE
BLACK premiere in September and SUPERGIRL and
ANGEL FROM HELL in late October, early November.
This will provide each show with very focused scheduling
and promotion, giving them the best possible chance to
succeed.”
ture YouTube stars Jenna Marbles (with more than 15 million
subscribers), Tyler Oakley (one of the most influential LGBT
vloggers), Kandee Johnson (whose beauty channel boasts
more than 3 million subscribers), The Slow Mo Guys (the
biggest channel for slow motion videos on YouTube) and the
creators of “Epic Rap Battles of History” (comedic altercations
between historical and pop culture figures in a rap music
format). Up-and-coming talent will also be featured. The
YouTube channel for THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES
CORDEN has consistently grown by double-digit percentages
monthly since the show’s debut, with more than 850,000 subscribers. The channel has nearly 200 million total views
across all videos, with numerous viral hits. Among them:
“Justin Bieber Carpool Karaoke” with more than 31 million
views, “Iggy Azalea Carpool Karaoke” with more than 9 million, and “James Corden and Tom Hanks Act Out Tom’s
Filmography” with more than 13 million. YouTube Spaces are
state-of-the-art production facilities around the world that
serve as a creative production facility for both established and
Among other key
points Tassler made:
CBS’s broadcast
of the historic Super
Bowl 50 in February
will mark the first time
any network has two
NFL packages and the Super Bowl in the same year. ...
Also for the first time,
CBS will own and
produce both of its late
night shows. ... CBS is
in “countdown mode
(for a) once in a generation moment” -- the
launch of THE LATE
SHOW WITH
STEPHEN COLBERT.
emerging YouTube creators globally. For more information,
go to: http://bit.ly/1KdDEz4
(CBS Summer Press Tour, continued from Page 1)
looking for a show that had the urgency and the relevance of ‘ER.’ With LIMITLESS, we were always
fascinated (with) what could you do if you could use 100
percent of your brain power? ANGEL FROM HELL was
an offbeat, quirky script that Jane Lynch completely
embraced and fell in love with. LIFE IN PIECES, a fantastic spec script we got our hands on and a comedy script
that just completely got the most excited cast right away.
SUPERGIRL, well, she had us at hello. We fell in love
with Kara as she balances her day job with CatCo in
defining herself as a superhero.”
Tassler concluded her
remarks by noting that
in a TV business that
continues to change at a very fast pace, CBS wants to be
wherever people want to watch -- whether on TV, a tablet
or phone. “In a world of more and more content creators
and distributors, buyers and sellers,” she said, “CBS
continues to be at the center of it, both as a network and
as a studio and more importantly, as a brand. ... In the
end, what's always been true is still true. It's about the
programs. Whether the viewer is selecting an app or
choosing a channel, the show is the driving force. If the
program has rich characters and compelling stories, viewers will watch on any platform, and communities and
audiences will grow around it.”
(Continued on Page 3)
2
(CBS Summer Press Tour, continued from Page 2)
Mark DeBevoise (l) and David Poltrack
At a CBS Research/CBS Interactive briefing, David
Poltrack, Chief Research Officer, CBS
Corporation/President, CBS Vision, and Marc
DeBevoise, EVP and General Manager, CBS Digital
Media, provided a look at the evolution of the television
medium across platforms. They provided, among other
information, a forecast of where television will be five
years from now, and showed how CBS and other content companies like it are uniquely positioned to capture
audiences across screens -- both now and in the future.
CBS News hosted
a panel featuring
Division President
David Rhodes
and FACE THE
NATION
Anchor/Political
Director for CBS
News, John
David Rhodes and John Dickerson Dickerson.
Rhodes reported
that “The CBS News division is doing very well….We’ve
seen significant growth in both our legacy broadcasts
and in many of the things we're doing as digital extensions. CBS THIS MORNING is seeing its largest
audiences in 20 years (while) THE CBS EVENING
NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY is seeing its best audience in ten years.” Rhodes went on to point out that the
core principles of the CBS News brand, embodied in
broadcasts like 60 MINUTES and all the other core properties, and extending them out over all of the main
broadcasts and new opportunities like CBSN.
Turning to next year’s Presidential election, Rhodes
said CBS News will mount very comprehensive coverage of the campaign, complete with digital journalistic components. And he announced that CBS News
will present a primary debate with the Democrats on
Saturday, November 14, and with Republicans on
Saturday, February 13.
Highlighting CBS’s Tour were panels with the stars
and producers of the freshman series SUPERGIRL,
ANGEL FROM HELL, CODE BLACK, LIMITLESS
and LIFE IN PIECES.
CBS’s Tour concluded
with a presentation by
THE LATE SHOW’s
new host, Executive
Producer and Writer,
Stephen Colbert.
*****
SHOWTIME: In his executive session Showtime
Networks President David
Nevins announced the pickDavid Nevins at
up
of RAY DONOVAN and
Press Tour
MASTERS OF SEX for their
fourth seasons; the return of HOMELAND and THE
AFFAIR on Oct. 4; the premiere of BILLIONS on Jan
17, along with the the return of SHAMELESS; an
upcoming CIA documentary, SPYMASTERS, executive produced by 48 HOURS Senior EP Susan
Zirinsky and directed by the Naudet brothers (the
Emmy and Peabody Award-winning film "9/11"); plus
a new collaboration with PENNY DREADFUL’s
_______ John Logan based on rock legend Patti
Smith's bestselling memoir "Just Kids"; and the
debut on the Network of TWIN PEAKS, which starts
production in September.
(Continued on Page 4)
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(SHOWTIME, continued from Page 3)
At the Tour SHOWTIME mounted panels with the casts
and producers of the upcoming 12 episode drama
BILLIONS, starring Damian Lewis and Oscar nominee
and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Paul Giamatti,
and returning hits MASTERS OF SEX and THE
AFFAIR.
*****
Showtime panels BILLIONS (top) and THE AFFAIR
SHOWTIME also announced that in the pipeline are two
pilot pick-ups: executive producer Jim Carrey’s "I'm
Dying up Here" about the L.A. comedy scene in the '70s,
and an untitled coming-of-age story about growing up as
a young African-American male. Plus, three documentaries will get a bonafide theatrical release under the
newly created Showtime documentary films banner:
"Listen to Me Marlon," "Prophet's Prey," and
"Dreamcatcher" – all believed to be serious Academy
Award contenders.
Upcoming In the sports arena is a new series -- "A
Season with Notre Dame Football"; a new sports documentary about New York Giants star Victor Cruz, and
the Floyd Mayweather/Andre Berto match-up
scheduled for Sept. 12.
Nevins, who is being elevated to CEO, concluded his
remarks with a tribute to Matt Blank who continues as
Chairman of the Division.
THE CW: At the Tour it
was reported that the
2014-15 season was
“pivotal” for the
Network, which had grown total audience for the third
year in a row. The freshman series, THE FLASH, was
the most-watched and highest-rated show among men
in The CW’s history, and the comedy, JANE THE VIRGIN, was the most-awarded and most criticallyacclaimed series ever for The CW. Noting that success
“all hinges upon having quality programming,” THE
CW President Mark Pedowitz cited as key elements
in the Network’s programming strategy for next season
the upcoming 2015-16 series CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, and CONTAINMENT, along with the return of the critically-acclaimed
series THE 100.
THE CW’s Tour
included a panel
session with the
stars and
producers of the
new comedy
The cast of The CW’s CRAZY
CRAZY EXEX-GIRLFRIEND
GIRLFRIEND,
and a special panel -- “'Running The Show: The
Women Executive Producers of THE CW” -- that
featured Aline Brosh Mckenna (CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND), Jennie Snyder Urman (JANE THE VIRGIN), Gabrielle Stanton (THE FLASH), Diane
Ruggiero-Wright (IZOMBIE), Wendy Mericle
(ARROW), Julie Plec (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE
ORIGINALS, CONTAINMENT), Caroline Dries (THE
VAMPIRE DIARIES), and Laurie McCarthy (REIGN).
(Continued on page 5)
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THE STARS SHINE AT THE CBS, SHOWTIME AND THE CW TCA PRESS PARTY
CODE BLACK’s Luis Guzmán and Marcia
Gay Harden, with Nina Tassler
Chairman, CBS Entertainment, David
Stapf, President, Television Studios
LIFE IN PIECES star
Colin Hanks and
MOM’s Anna Faris
James Corden, host of THE LATE,
LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN,
CBS President and CEO Leslie
Moonves and Stephen Colbert, host
of THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN
COLBERT
LIMITLESS stars Jake
McDorman and Hill Harper
BILLIONS cast members Malin Akerman, Maggie Siff and
Condola Rashad with SHOWTIME President, David
Nevins
JANE THE VIRGIN Executive Producer
Jennie Snyder Urman, with stars Jaime
Camil, Gina Rodriguez, and Yael Grobglas
NCIS: LOS ANGELES stars Chris O'Donnell, Barrett Foa,
Renée Felice Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Daniela Ruah, LL
COOL J, and Eric Christian Olsen
SHOWTIME Networks Chairman and CEO
Matt Blank with THE AFFAIR’s Joshua
Jackson
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which can be found on the CBS Corporation website,
www.cbscorporation.com, in the "News" and
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