US broadcaster CBS has upped Kelly Kahl to president of entertainment and drafted in The CW exec Thom Sherman, with Glenn Geller (pictured) set to exit. Kahl has been upped from senior executive VP of CBS Primetime, a role she has held since 2005. Sherman, who joins from CBS’s part-owned network The CW later this […]
Buzzy HBO drama Westworld has become the best ever launch for HBO Canada and The Movie Network. The sci-fi series bowed strongly on HBO in the US and also on Sky Atlantic in the UK. In both Canada and the UK the series opener beat Game of Thrones in terms of viewing numbers. On HBO […]
Westworld’s debut in the UK was bigger than both Game of Thrones and Fortitude. The new HBO sci-fi drama pulled in a consolidated 1.84 million viewers on its debut in the UK on pay TV channel Sky Atlantic. This makes it bigger than Game of Thrones’ debut (1.45 million) and previous record holder Fortitude (1.74 […]
J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions has become a coproducer on a Warner Bros. Television event series about the late pop star Michael Jackson. Bar Robot will join Warner and Smiley Television & Film as a copro partner of the adaptation of Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days, which […]
Fox Networks Group Europe has acquired rights to J.J. Abrams thriller drama 11/22/63 from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution in 18 territories. The deal gives Fox exclusive broadcast rights in Bulgaria, Flemish-speaking Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The deal marks the […]
UK pubcaster the BBC has promoted Luther producer Liz Kilgarriff to become its new indie drama commissioning chief. Kilgarriff will replace Polly Hill, who was promoted to drama controller to replace the LA-bound Ben Stephenson after spending six years as independent drama commissioning editor. Kilgarriff is currently working on new drama Thirteen, and has in […]
The BBC’s drama chief, Ben Stephenson, is leaving the UK public broadcaster and relocating to LA. He will join J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot Productions, as head of television. Stephenson has been controller of drama commissioning at the BBC since 2008, during which time he has greenlit shows such as Sherlock, Wolf Hall, Luther […]
US premium cabler HBO has confirmed a 10-episode order for a remake of 1970s sci-fi horror Western Westworld. The one-hour drama project hails from writer Jonathan Nolan, brother of Hollywood director Christopher Nolan, and Lost and Fringe creator JJ Abrams. Bad Robot Productions, Jerry Weintraub Productions and Kilter Films are working on the project in […]
US cable channel Showtime has ordered a comedy pilot about music roadies from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions. Roadies will follow a successful rock band through the eyes of their crew members. Oscar-winner Cameron Crowe wrote the pilot and will direct and executive produce. Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) is showrunner, while Abrams and Bryan […]
All3 America, the new US arm of UK producer All3Media, has opened a scripted division and has appointed a former exec from J.J. Abrams’ production company to helm it. Eric Lehrman has been named senior VP, scripted television, and will seek to build on All3’s slate of scripted formats, which include UK scripts such as […]
