This Joka, a stand-up comedy series exec produced by Will Smith, will not be returning for a second season on Roku.
The streaming service launched the series, which came via its acquisition of short-form service Quibi, in March.
The series features a raft of stand-ups including Punkie Johnson and Chris Estrada.
We hear that the decision had nothing to do with the Oscars incident, where Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage, but a somewhat unusual issue with timing.
Roku is believed to never really have had the option to renew the series, which is produced by Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Topgolf Entertainment Group. The option to renew lapsed before Roku launched the show, and certainly before the streamer had the chance to analyze its viewing data, meaning that it was unlikely to return for a second season on the platform.
The show featured a diverse lineup of up-and-coming, established, and legendary comedians exploring the nature of comedy and its unique ability to bring people together. Shot on location at Topgolf and other popular venues across Las Vegas, the series showcased stand-up sets, as well as one-on-one conversations between Smith and the comedians, intimate interviews, and docu-style moments backstage and around the city.
It featured Baron Vaughn, Megan Gailey, Punkie Johnson, Sean Patton, Rosebud Baker, Shane Torres, Clayton English, Christi Chiello, Vanessa Gonzalez, Martin Urbano, Sam Tallent, David Gborie, Jackie Fabulous, Chris Estraded, Rell Battle, and Daphnique Springs, with special appearances by George Wallace, Demi Adejuyigbe and Shawn Wasabi.
“This isn’t a competition, this is an opportunity to laugh,” Smith said in the trailer.
Smith executive produced along with Miguel Melendez, Terence Carter, Brad Haugen, Lukas Kaiser, Erik Anderson, Chad Nelson, and YuChiang Cheng. Lance Bangs directed.
Separately, we understand that Netflix has no plans to air Smith’s other stand-up comedy project. In June 2021, the streamer revealed that Smith would host his first comedy variety show. He was exec producing with Westbrook Studios producing.
We hear that the special was never filmed, and for obvious reasons, there’s no plans to move forward with it at the streamer.
Source: Deadline
The first series cut due to the merger of Warner Bros and Discovery Inc. has been revealed. With the announcement that TBS and TNT are exciting scripted programming, it has been reported that Kill the Orange-Faced Bear is not moving forward at TBS. Starring Damon Wayans Jr., production was set to start on an eight-episode season next week in Vancouver.
According to reports, the producers of the series are shopping the comedy to other outlets. The series follows a man (Wayans Jr.) who goes out for revenge after a bear kills his girlfriend.
The following was revealed about the plot of the series:
“In Kill the Orange-Faced Bear, Wayans Jr. stars as Hank, the charming, funny and grieving man who’s hell-bent on tracking down Brenda the bear, along with Jessy Hodges as Jamie, the twin sister of Hank’s late girlfriend; Alex Karpovsky as Ronnie, an oddball park ranger; and Nate Torrence as Murray, Hank’s best friend. The voice cast lineup includes Sarah Silverman as Brenda, the sarcastic badass grizzly bear who attacked and ate Hank’s girlfriend; Nicole Byer as Pauline, a bear with perfect fur and perfect nails who uses her feminine wiles to seduce Brenda’s husband; and Sam Richardson as Steve, the charmingly idiotic bear with a dangerous habit of breaking into cars to steal snacks and beer.”
Central City Productions announces the 7th Annual Black Music Honors live tapping at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Ga. on Thursday, May 19. The star-studded two-hour event will honor artists and musicians who have influenced and made significant contributions to American music.
This year’s remarkable group of honorees include Multi-Platinum, Award-Winning Supergroup Dru Hill who will receive the Urban Music Icon Award; Five-Time GRAMMY Nominee Tevin Campbell who will be honored with the R&B Icon Award and Multi-Award-Winning; Gospel Duo Mary Mary will be presented with the Gospel Icon Award; NAACP Image Award-Winning Singer Karyn White will also be recognized with the Soul Music Award; Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter Keri Hilson will be honored with the Music and Songwriter Icon Award for her accomplishments penning songs for some of the biggest names in music and the Legendary R&B Group The Whispers will take home the Legends Award for their incredible nearly six-decade music career.
“We are more than excited to return to in-person taping for the first time in nearly three years with a live studio audience,” says Founder and Executive Producer, Don Jackson. “The pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the music industry and we’re honored to celebrate, commemorate and honor music trailblazers who have paved the way for the next generation of music and culture.”
Multi-hyphenate LeToya Luckett will co-host the epic night of celebration along with Chicago Actor and Comedian DeRay Davis. The televised special is set to air in national broadcast syndication Saturday, June 4 – Sunday, July 3, and on Bounce TV on Saturday, June 25th. The 7th Annual Black Music Honors show is Executive Produced by Don Jackson with Jennifer J. Jackson serving as Producer and Michael A. Johnson as Producer and Director.
Tickets for the live-taping event are available at www.blackmusichonors.com or you can purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com by clicking here. For more information about Black Music Honors, visit www.blackmusichonors.com or connect on social media @blackmusichonors on Facebook and Instagram or @blackmusichonor on Twitter.
TBS continues to thin the herd of its scripted originals.
The basic cable network, now part of the sprawling Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio, has canceled Tracy Morgan comedy The Last O.G. after a four-season run. Sources say that the decision to ax the comedy was made months ago after the now fourth season and ultimate series finale aired back in December.
The decision comes as little surprise after the comedy hit a string of series lows in season four, which marked the show’s first without leading lady Tiffany Haddish. The Last O.G. had a long road to the screen and marked Morgan’s first role since the devastating 2014 crash that left him in a coma with several broken bones. The show was originally developed at FX in 2016 before moving to TBS with a series order.
The comedy has also burned through a new showrunner every season after Owen Smith (Black-ish) steered season four, having replaced Keenen Ivory Wayans. Wayans replaced Saladin Patterson, who stepped in for creator John Carcieri in season two.
As for TBS, the cable network has continued to cut back on scripted originals over the past few years as audiences and development dollars shift to streaming. Once home to a sprawling portfolio that featured the likes of House of Payne, For Better or Worse, Cougar Town, Ground Floor, Angie Tribeca, People of Earth and Search Party, among others, TBS’ current slate has dwindled down to Fox transfer American Dad (renewed through 2023), the fourth season of anthology Miracle Workers and Nassim Pedrad’s long-gestating comedy Chad. The cabler recently made the decision to scrap Damon Wayans Jr. comedy Kill the Orange-Faced Bear, which landed at TBS after another linear cable network (Comedy Central) passed on it amid their own retreat from scripted.
TBS’ sibling network, TNT, has made the same retreat from scripted with a handful of shows earmarked for the network having either been dropped entirely, moved to HBO Max or sold to third-party buyers. TNT’s roster features only Snowpiercer and the upcoming final season of Animal Kingdom. The cabler, too, was also once home to a sizable slate of scripted that included Claws, The Last Ship, The Librarians, Major Crimes, Murder in the First, Rizzoli & Isles, Falling Skies, Southland, Dallas and scores of others.
It’s important to note that the cancellation sprees at TBS and TNT predate the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger. Linear networks, be it cable or broadcast, have dramatically reduced the volume of originals since viewers moved to streaming. Scripted series are expensive to produce when compared with reality or unscripted programming. As every conglomerate now has their own streaming platform, the days of revenue from SVOD deals to Netflix and international sales have evaporated as those rights become paramount to program internal platforms as companies hold on to their assets rather than supplying them to others.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Reuters – Stand-up comedian and Hollywood actor Kevin Hart on Tuesday launched a new media company called HARTBEAT, with a $100 million investment from private equity firm Abry Partners.
Abry, which focuses on investments in the media, communication, and information services space, took a minority stake in the company at an undisclosed valuation.
Hart, known for his roles in films such as “Ride Along” and “Central Intelligence”, will be the chairman of the new venture created out of the merger of Hart’s entertainment businesses Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions.
Thai Randolph, who has held senior executive positions at both the businesses, will be the chief executive officer of HARTBEAT, the company said.
It added that Nicolas Massard, a partner at Abry, would join the company’s board and NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock would remain a shareholder.
HARTBEAT said it would produce and distribute television and film content focused on “comedic storytelling” and that it was in various stages of development or production on more than sixty projects.
A number of buyout firms have dived into the entertainment space in recent months, betting on strong demand for content.
In January, private equity fund Apollo (APO.N) said it would invest $760 million in Legendary Entertainment, the production and finance company behind films including “Dune” and “Godzilla vs. Kong”.
Last year, Chris Tucker explained why he quit the Friday franchise after just one movie.
“One of the reasons why I didn’t do the second one was because of the weed. Because I was like, ‘man that movie became a phenomenon, I don’t really want everyone smoking weed. I never really told anyone this, because I forget about it, but it was one of the reasons I didn’t do it because I don’t want to represent everyone smoking weed. That kinda made it more personal than a movie,” he said.
Despite those words, DC Young Fly believes he can pull Tucker back into the franchise.
During a chat with Shannon Sharpe, he claimed that Tucker is back in as long as Young Fly plays his son.
“Chris Tucker out his mouth told me — literally this year — He said if I play his son, he’ll be in the movie,” DC Young Fly said “I promise you, out his mouth, this is what he said to me. He said: If you play my son, I’ll be in the movie.”
This all may be moot. Ice Cube has been at war with Warner Bros over a fourth installment of the franchise, which has been in development for over a decade. If they don’t settle their differences, another Friday seems unlikely, Tucker or no Tucker.
Coming off a series regular role on the second season of HBO Max’s Love Life, Chris Powell, also known as Comedian CP, is set to headline his own potential comedy series for the streamer. HBO Max landed the project, My Father’s Son, in competitive situation.
Now in development, My Father’s Son is inspired by Powell’s relationship with his dad. Powell; is co-writing with Isaiah Lester (black-ish). Richie Keen (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) is attached to direct. The trio executive produce alongside Trevor Engelson for Underground and Doug Banker for Five All in The Fifth.
Powell also served as a writer and recurring guest star on Comedy Central’s Detroiters, also wrote for and appeared on Ole Bud’s ANU Football Weekly and recurred on Empire and White Famous. He is repped by Artists First, CAA, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
Source: Deadline
Arsenio Hall is getting back into the late-night game. Temporarily.
The comedian, who hosted The Arsenio Hall Show, is bringing back his show for a four-night run during the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.
Starting May 2, the Coming to America and Coming 2 America star will host his show at the Roosevelt Theater in LA. The episodes will air on Netflix’s comedy YouTube page.
The Arsenio Hall Show initially ran in syndication between 1989 and 1994. It was produced by Hall’s own company and distributed by Paramount Domestic Television. The show returned for one more season between September 2013 and May 2014, produced by Hall’s company, Tribune Broadcasting, Octagon Entertainment, and Eye Productions, and was distributed by CBS Television Distribution.
The show was a breakout success when it launched, taking younger viewers away from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and introducing the audience’s canine-themed cheering in place of applause.
Hall also returned to late-night last year as one of the guest hosts of Jimmy Kimmel Live! when Kimmel was away for his traditional summer break.
“The bark is coming back,” Hall said in a video you can watch below. All my dogs out there can watch it from the comfort of your own pound. So get ready for live comedy, surprise guests and of course [barking]. I still got it.”
Source: Deadline
Look for its first new episode on Friday, June 24, available on streaming and on-demand for all Showtime subscribers before making its on-air debut on Sunday, June 26 at 9:00/8:00c.
SHOWTIME has announced that the highly anticipated fifth season of its hit drama series THE CHI will return with its first new episode on Friday, June 24th, available on streaming and on-demand for all SHOWTIME subscribers before making its on-air debut on Sunday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Each new episode of the fifth season will be available on Fridays on streaming and on-demand. Season four ended as one of the network’s most-streamed series ever, averaging 4.2 million weekly viewers. THE CHI, from 20th Television (HOMELAND), is currently in production on 10 episodes in Chicago.
“We’re so honored to be in our fifth season and grateful to the fans that show up for us and make sure people know about THE CHI,” said series creator and executive producer Lena Waithe. “We appreciate the fans so much and hope everyone enjoys this upcoming season. Lots of love.”
Produced entirely in its namesake city, THE CHI is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents on the South Side of Chicago who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. Season five cast includes Jacob Latimore (Like a Boss), Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Yolonda Ross (Treme), Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps, Birgundi Baker, Luke James and Curtiss Cook (West Side Story). Kandi Burruss, La La Anthony, Jason Weaver and Iman Shumpert are set to return as guest stars, along with previously announced new guest stars Nia Jervier (Dear White People, Twenties) as Tierra, the poised, polished and driven god-niece of Douda (Cook), whom he recruits for a rebranding effort; and Carolyn Michelle Smith (Russian Doll, House of Cards) as Deja, a new love interest for Shaad (Weaver) who helps him level up in more ways than one. In addition, L’lerrét Jazelle plays Fatima, a local journalist who wants the best for her neighborhood and isn’t afraid to hold politicians’ feet to the fire to get the truth, and Antonyah Allen is Simone, Kevin’s (Hibbert) new classmate, a creative introvert who constantly challenges him and opens his mind to new experiences.
Along with Emmy(R) winner Waithe (Twenties, Boomerang), the series is executive produced by Academy Award(R) and Emmy winner Common (Selma), Aaron Kaplan (A Million Little Things, The Neighborhood), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Derek Dudley and Shelby Stone of ID8 Multimedia, Rishi Rajani, CEO of Hillman Grad Productions, and showrunner Justin Hillian. Jewel Coronel has been upped from co-executive producer to executive producer for season five.