Working Title News

Renowned journalist, author and female empowerment advocate Gretchen Carlson has joined forces with Lifetime for the network's new Monday night Justice for Women with Gretchen Carlson programming block, centering on shows that highlight women who display courage, bravery and compassion in the pursuit of justice and fairness, it was announced today by Gena McCarthy, EVP, Head of Programming, Lifetime Unscripted & Head of Programming, FYI. The block will feature women at the forefront of law enforcement, series that highlight female survivors and specials that empower women to take back control. Kicking off on June 18, Carlson will host the two-hour programming block with wraps between each show, and also narrate the new series, Live PD Presents: Women on Patrol premiering at 9pm ET/PT. The season four premiere of Escaping Polygamy will bow at 10pm ET/PT.

The Orchard Project is proud to announce the artists, teams, and ensembles participating in its twelfth summer theatre residency program. More than 30 artists and ensembles were selected for residencies this summer from nearly 600 theatre artists and companies who applied. The artists, teams, and companies will come to Saratoga Springs from across the United States and the world to accelerate projects at various stages of development. Throughout the program, the Orchard Project will also present a series of special events and cabarets for the public by OP residents and associated artists.

Nickelodeon today announced the development of a new animated project, Man of the House (working title), from Norman Lear's ACT III Productions. With creative concept by Colombian-American writer and illustrator Michael Molina (Trivia Night), Man of the House follows 11-year-old José as he helps his mother Maria watch over his two younger siblings, Maria Juliana (Maju) and Diego, while trying to form a hip-hop group with his quirky classmate and neighbor, Wilbur, that lives downstairs. Lear (All in the Family, The Jeffersons) and Brent Miller (One Day at a Time) will serve as executive producers.

This summer, Hallmark Channel takes viewers on an exciting trip around the world with its annual Summer Nights programming event celebrating the sun-drenched days of leisure and love. Viewers with wanderlust will be able to travel to exotic locations including South Africa, the Caribbean and the South Pacific beaches of Fiji from the comfort of their own homes.

More than $585,000 in targeted grants will support a global crop of independent nonfiction storytellers, Sundance Institute announced today. 57% of the supported projects are helmed by women, and 48% are from outside the U.S.; 34% of grantees are first-time feature filmmakers. This cohort is one of two that will be announced this year; projects are selected as part of an ongoing rolling call. 

HBO and Sky today announced THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED, a four-hour documentary series directed by Academy Award® nominee Amy Berg (“Deliver Us from Evil,” “West of Memphis”). The series will explore the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old Baltimore County high school student Hae Min Lee, and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, a case brought to global attention by the hugely popular “Serial” podcast. Working Title TV and Instinct Productions are producing and NBCUniversal International Studios are distributing the follow-up to the case, which will debut on HBO in the U.S. and on Sky Atlantic in Europe.

Acclaimed film and television actor Paul Anderson will play the title role in Tartuffe at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, alongside celebrated stage and screen stars Audrey Fleurot, George Blagden, Sebastian Roche and Olivia Ross. In the West End's first ever dual-language production, Moliere's classic comedy re-imagines Tartuffe as a radical American evangelist who uproots the life of a French film tycoon in Hollywood.

Full casting has been announced for the sensational feel-good musical MAMMA MIA! which comes to Palace Theatre, Manchester from 3rd - 14th July 2018 as part of its international tour. Shona White (Donna Sheridan), Nicky Swift (Rosie), Helen Anker (Tanya), Tamlyn Henderson (Sam Carmichael), Daniel Crowder (Harry Bright), Matthew Rutherford (Bill Austin), Lucy May Barker (Sophie Sheridan), Phillip Ryan (Sky), Leisha Mollyneaux (Ali), Lottie Henshall (Lisa), Matt Jordan-Pidgeon (Pepper) and Michael Nelson (Eddie) will star in the production. At certain performances the role of Donna Sheridan will be played by Natalie Langston.

The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University (CBA), the first international institute devoted to the creation and academic study of ballet, today announced the 27 artists and scholars who will serve as CBA Fellows in the 2018-19 academic year. The group - which represents The Center's largest and most far-reaching cohort yet - features distinguished individuals in a range of disciplines, including scholar Cecile Feza Bushidi, lighting designer Brandon Stirling Baker, choreographer Chase Brock, choreographer, filmmaker, and dancer Pontus Lidberg, and scholar Janice Ross, among others.

Turner's truTV continues to bolster its growing roster of wholly-owned, original comedies as the network today unveiled its 2018-19 programming slate ahead of next week's 2018 Turner Upfront event at Madison Square Garden. The cable network, which since 2014 has transformed into a premium destination for a wide range of distinct, creator-driven scripted, unscripted and hybrid series, announced the greenlight of Tacoma FD (working title), a new scripted series from Super Troopers' Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme about a fire department in the wettest city in America. Also joining the slate are two new pilots - a comedic medical advice show created by Ken Jeong and an animated project from Jo Koy, which are currently in development. The network has also expanded its portfolio of existing original series, with new seasons of ADAM RUINS EVERYTHING and Hack My Life, along with an additional episode order for freshman series Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks.

On April 21, 2018, Patrick Marber spoke about Travesties with Education Dramaturg Ted Sod as part of Roundabout Theatre Company's lecture series.

Today, during the Hulu 18 Presentation at the newly-named Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, executives took the stage to reveal the company's rapid growth, announce multiple original programming and exclusive acquisition deals that expand Hulu's content offering, and unveil new product and measurement innovations that will bring the future of television to the advertising business.

Hulu has expanded its slate of critically-acclaimed original series with new series orders for Four Weddings and a Funeral and Ramy, which join upcoming Hulu Originals Castle Rock, Hulu's second project from J.J. Abrams and Stephen King set to premiere on July 25; Catch-22, from George Clooney and starring Kyle Chandler; The First, from Beau Willimon and starring Sean Penn; and Little Fires Everywhere, from Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, based on the acclaimed novel of the same name.

Today, during the Hulu 18 Presentation at the newly-named Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, executives took the stage to reveal the company's rapid growth, announce multiple original programming and exclusive acquisition deals that expand Hulu's content offering, and unveil new product and measurement innovations that will bring the future of television to the advertising business.

Sundance Institute's Theatre Lab kicks off on May 6th, and today announced this year's participating acting company and creative advisors. The Lab, which runs through May 27 at the Fellah Hotel outside Marrakech, Morocco, is supervised by Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, and is the centerpiece of the Institute's year-round work with the theatre community, alternating locations between Sundance Resort in Utah and a venue in the Middle East/North African region, as part of a multi-year commitment to international work and a means of facilitating cultural exchange between artists writing in English and Arabic.

E! announced today six new series plus three unscripted development projects that are rooted in celebrity and pop culture and target the network's core female millennial audience. New series include an innovative talk show hosted by actress Busy Philipps, a new series centered around the women of the popular podcast “The LadyGang,” and a new docu-series featuring actress and singer Ashlee Simpson-Ross and her husband, actor and artist Evan Ross. In addition, popular, long-running franchise “E! True Hollywood Story” will return with a fresh approach and new episodes that dive deep into the most compelling personalities and stories that are shaping headlines.

Amanda Crew and Robert Patrick are starring in Ricky Bates Jr.'s TONE DEAF, the first film in the yearly slate of elevated suspense-thriller genre films from Circle of Confusion (producers of The Walking Dead), Lightning Entertainment and Hindsight Media.  Production is currently underway.

MTV Greenlights Four New Series to Expand Thursday Night Block

MTV is utilizing monster hit 'Jersey Shore Family Vacation' to launch new series and expand on its thriving Thursday night block. First up was 'Ex on the Beach' which debuted out of 'JSFV' last week and proved the strategy is working. It was MTV's highest rated non 'Jersey Shore' unscripted series launch in over four years, +282% from the time period average, and +174% from MTV's new series average. The powerhouse combination of 'JSFV' and 'Ex on the Beach' secured MTV's position as the #1 network across broadcast and cable on Thursdays in primetime among P18-34.

Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City is a 10-part Netflix original limited series, expected to start production later this year and debut in 2019.