The 22nd Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (www.urbanworld.org), presented by AT&T's The Humanity of Connection along with founding partner HBO, presented its 2018 festival slate today. The slate of 69 official selections and 7 spotlight selections represent inclusion beyond ethnicity. The annual showcase of diverse culture and sensibility will be experienced in Manhattan September 19-23, 2018 at AMC Empire 25 on 234 West 42nd Street.
Honoring tomorrow's 30th anniversary of satirical news outlet The Onion, Nick Scown and Julie Seabaugh have released The Onion Issue, a short film focusing on the challenges staffers surmounted in helping America regain a sense of normalcy in the face of tragedy. The sample segment is culled from the pair's forthcoming 2021 documentary Too Soon: The Comedy of 9/11, which follows the sudden halt and gradual evolution of the comedy industry in the 20 years following the most earth-shattering public event in U.S. history.
The critically-acclaimed CNN Original Series, This is Life with Lisa Ling, returns for its fifth season on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT, following the season 12 premiere of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown. The eight-part investigative docuseries follows award-winning journalist Lisa Ling as she travels across America immersing herself in communities that are often unknown or misunderstood.
Sundance Now, AMC Networks' direct-to-consumer SVOD service curated with high-quality dramas and crime thrillers, announced today that it will begin streaming '54 Hours,' a gripping, four-part hostage drama starting Thursday, September 6th. Based on a 1988 German bank robbery that went wildly wrong, the series stars Sascha Alexander Gersak, Alexander Scheer, Johannes Allmayer, Marie Rosa Tietjen, Amelie Kiefer, Ulrich Noethen, and Albrecht Abraham Schuch and will be available to binge all at once.
NBC Sports Regional Networks today announced the return of its direct-to-consumer product, NBC Sports Gold's “Blazers Pass.” The streaming product allows fans residing in Blazers territory to purchase a subscription to 15 Portland Trail Blazers games during the 2018-19 NBA season. New this year, before the pass goes on sale, fans will have the opportunity to vote on which games are included in the pass.
S.W.A.T.: SEASON 1, the high-octane series that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, is headed to DVD August 28 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Leading an ensemble cast, Shemar Moore (TV's “Criminal Minds”) stars as
Los Angeles-born S.W.A.T. sergeant Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson who is tasked with heading a specialized tactical unit within the Los Angeles Police Department. Torn between loyalty to his community and allegiance to his fellow officers, Hondo does everything it takes to be an exceptional leader and bridge the divide between his two worlds.
BBC AMERICA and WOMEN'S MEDIA CENTER have entered into a strategic alliance, with the goal of expanding both the diversity and representation of women in media. In the coming months, BBC AMERICA and WOMEN'S MEDIA CENTER will partner on initiatives to enrich, engage, and enlighten through proprietary analysis and content alliances as a way to spark change. The first partnership is a research study that will look at how depictions of women on screen impact young women and girls, with findings to be published later this year.
Regarding this morning's Nielsens, note that the fast-affiliate ratings that came in at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT are not time zone-adjusted and are subject to change. Despite that, NBC currently ranks #1 for the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49, total viewers and all other key categories.
NBC and Telemundo stations located in more than 70 cities in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico are joining with over 1,100 animal shelters and rescues to present the fourth annual Clear the Shelters pet adoption campaign this August. Launched earlier this month and culminating tomorrow with “Clear the Shelters Day,” local shelters and rescues will reduce or waive their pet adoption fees tomorrow to help families adopt a pet. Visitcleartheshelters.com to access a list of participating shelters and a real-time pet adoption tracker. Since 2015, more than 150,000 pets have been adopted through Clear the Shelters.
New Brunswick Cultural CenterArts New Brunswick presents the seventh annual Hub City Sounds series, taking place this summer from August 25 through October 14. This FREE family-friendly series is a performing, visual, CULINARY arts festival with events for all tastes.
Three-time Emmy Award-nominated obstacle course competition series “American Ninja Warrior” heads to Las Vegas for the start of the National Finals on Monday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. PT/ET.
On Thursday, September 6 at 6:00 p.m., youth from across New York City will present original music, dance, poetry, visual art, and more in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing as part of the NeON Arts summer showcase. A program of the NYC Department of Probation (DOP) in partnership with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, NeON Arts brings free arts programming to communities across the city. The final event will feature video footage from NeON Inspires, a youth-led conversation with hip-hop entrepreneur Kareem "Biggs" Burke that took place in June 2018, as well as original artwork from eight organizations that led creative projects for young people this spring and summer in the seven communities served by the DOP's Neighborhood Opportunity Networks:
Noticias Telemundo today announced it has named Romina Rosado as Senior Vice President of Digital News, effective immediately. She will be based in Miami at the company's new headquarters, Telemundo Center, and will report to Luis Fernández, Executive Vice President of Network News, Telemundo Networks.
Universal Open Rocket League – NBC Sports Group and FACEIT's annual esports tournament – culminates this weekend at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., as the top Rocket League players in the world compete in a 2v2 tournament for a $100,000 prize pool.
SHOWTIME has announced that Emmy nominee Kari Skogland (The Handmaid's Tale) will direct the first two episodes of the network's eight-episode limited series about Fox News founder Roger Ailes, based upon the extensive reporting of Gabriel Sherman in his bestselling book, The Loudest Voice in the Room, and starring Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) in the title role. Skogland returns to SHOWTIME, where she has previously directed shows including PENNY DREADFUL, THE BORGIAS, THE L WORD® and QUEER AS FOLK. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine, President of Programming, Showtime Networks.
Lifetime's hit beauty competition series, American Beauty Star began production on its second season this week in Atlanta. Created by Herrick Entertainment, Season 2 brings a whole new trio of judges including the world's original supermodel, Christie Brinkley; Hearst Magazines Chief Beauty Director, Leah Wyar; and world acclaimed, celebrity fashion and beauty photographer,Yu Tsai joining new host international superstar model Ashley Graham and mentor, world acclaimed celebrity makeup artist, Sir John. Each judge will use their unique experience to determine who stays in and who packs up their brushes in each episode.
IFC announced today that it has picked up the upcoming fourth season of the all-female sketch series Baroness von Sketch Show which will air on the network in 2019. The series is performed and written by Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen. Whalen also serves as the season's showrunner.
