HBO’s ‘Divorce’ & ‘Crashing’ set Season 2 premiere dates
‘Blue Planet II’ makes ratings splash
LOS ANGELES, Nov 7, (RTRS): Two HBO comedies, “Divorce” and “Crashing,” will return with back-to-back season premieres Sunday, Jan 14, beginning at 10 p.m. The eight-episode Season 2 of “Divorce” will center around Frances (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her ex-husband, Robert (Thomas Haden Church) as they rebuild their lives from the aftermath of their separation. Immediately following, Season 2 of creator and star Pete Holmes’ “Crashing” will premiere at 10:30 p.m. The premiere will focus on Pete as he converses with an enlightening atheist and spends a debauched night in New York, the start of an eight-episode season that will have the protagonist questioning his faith and finding his voice.
“Disney Parks Presents a Disney Channel Holiday Celebration” will premiere Friday, Nov 24 in the DisneyNOW app and Friday, Dec 1 at 8:30-9:30 pm EST on Disney Channel, the network has announced. “Raven’s Home” stars Raven-Symone and Issac Ryan Brown will host the show, featuring performances by Dove Cameron and Sofia Carson (“Descendants 2”), Asher Angel (“Andi Mack”), and Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly (“Zombies”). Also on the special event, “Descendants 2” star Booboo Stewart will take viewers on an exclusive tour of Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (scheduled to open September 2018), and three families from across the country will be spotlighted for their philanthropic contributions to their communities.
Guy Sheppard has joined ABC Studios International as head of business affairs. Based in London, he will lead the company’s business affairs and deal-making functions. With his team, Sheppard will negotiate and manage all business deals in connection with ABCSI’s development and production activities, such as engaging above-the-line talent, negotiating co-production arrangements, overseeing the licensing of ABCSI content across all platforms, and providing strategic support for ABCSI’s business expansion. Sheppard worked previously at NBCUniversal International Studios as senior vice president of business, commercial and legal affairs.
CableTV.com has released its second annual report on each state’s favorite reality show. CBS’s “Hunted” and ABC’s “Bachelor in Paradise” were the only standouts this year; last year, “Hoarders” and “Project Runway” were the big winners, with “Shark Tank,” “The Apprentice,” and “The Bachelor” following close behind. Compared to the 2016 data, the 2017 data includes a wider range of shows. View the full report here.
Showtime’s new comedy “SMILF” enjoyed a strong opening in the ratings for its debut on Sunday, while the Season 8 debut of “Shameless” improved on the Season 7 premiere.
According to Nielsen data, “SMILF” pulled in 768,000 viewers in its initial airing at 10 p.m. and added a little less than 250,000 additional viewers with two additional airings that night, bringing its premiere night total to 1.01 million. That is not including the 440,000 whom Showtime says sampled the series early on demand and streaming.
The news bodes well for the series, which was created by and stars Frankie Shaw as a single mother living in South Boston. For comparison, the series premiere of fellow Showtime freshman comedy “White Famous” starring Jay Pharoah and executive produced by and guest starring Jamie Foxx drew an estimated 154,000 viewers in its initial airing. The Season 2 premiere of “Dice,” another Showtime comedy, averaged a 177,000.
“SMILF” also had the good fortune of airing immediately after the Season 8 premiere of “Shameless.” This season’s premiere was the show’s highest-rated since Season 3, drawing in 1.86 million viewers in its initial airing at 9 pm. That is an approximate improvement of 50 percent compared to the Season 7 premiere, which drew 1.24 million viewers. When two additional airings are factored in, “Shameless” pulled in 2.17 million viewers for the night.
Natural history program “Blue Planet II” has delivered epic numbers for the BBC, becoming the most-watched show of the year in Britain.
The opening installment of the show, which explores the world’s oceans, drew 14.1 million viewers. The Oct 29 linear broadcast attracted a peak audience of 10.3 million, a 41.4% share, with the rest watching via catch-up.
Those numbers make “Blue Planet II” the UK’s most-watched natural history show in 15 years, and the third-most-watched show of any kind in the last five years, trailing only the 2014 World Cup Final and the “Great British Bake Off.”
The series is narrated by venerable presenter David Attenborough and is broadcast in the family-friendly 8 pm Sunday slot on flagship channel BBC One.
The second episode of the seven-part series this past Sunday performed even more strongly than the first, garnering a peak audience of 11 million and an average of 10.7 million, a 44.7% share. The BBC said that 2.3 million of the linear viewers were in the crucial 16-to-34year-old demographic.
“Blue Planet II” is produced by the natural history department of the British pubcaster’s production arm, BBC Studios, in association with BBC America, WDR, and France Televisions. The series is distributed by BBC Worldwide, which also handled sales for the recent “Planet Earth 2.”
British media regulator Ofcom has concluded that Fox News programs featuring Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson violated the UK’s broadcasting code by breaching impartiality rules — an unwelcome finding for 21st Century Fox as British authorities evaluate the company’s bid to take over pay-TV platform Sky.
Sky dropped Fox News from its UK lineup in August, but Ofcom has continued to investigate complaints about shows that aired before the channel went dark. The regulator said Monday that both “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and “Hannity” broke the rules on the “due impartiality” expected of news coverage in Britain.
The findings come as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority conducts an investigation of 21st Century Fox’s proposed $15 billion deal for the chunk of Sky it does not already own. Opponents of the deal have repeatedly cited governance and compliance issues at Fox News as a reason to block it, and Ofcom chief Sharon White has made clear that her organization will work with the CMA as it looks into the bid.