News

National Geographic is expanding its unscripted slate with four new series greenlights.

“These new unscripted series epitomize everything National Geographic stands for — bold, captivating storytelling rooted in world-class research and expertise,” said Tom McDonald, executive vice president of global unscripted and factual content for Nat Geo. “Whether it’s the cutting-edge innovation of ‘The Real Finding Nemo’ (working title), the storytelling panache of ‘Surviving Pompeii’ (working title), the sweeping ambition of ‘Meet the Planets’ (working title), or the unparalleled access in ‘Diana: One Day in Paris,’ National Geographic is building on its reputation as the home of the most distinctive factual series from the very best storytellers in the world.”

Full descriptions of the new series can be found below.

Nat Geo earned the most ever nominations in the brand’s history at last September’s News & Docs Emmys. Its 10 wins included those for shows like “Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller” with five wins,...

Netflix is teasing their TV show and movie slate with a teaser video, and we’re highlighting some of the movies featured! You can see our full article about Netflix’s TV show slate for 2024 here.

The video features clips from various movies, and other original films have been given release dates that were just revealed!

Keep reading to find out more…

Some of the films teased in the video include Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz‘s Back in Action, Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: Part Two the Scargiver, Eddie Murphy‘s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (out on July 3),

Scroll down for the entire 2024 film slate…

Orion And The Dark (Feb 2)

Orion seems a lot like your average elementary school kid –– shy, unassuming, harboring a secret crush. But underneath his seemingly normal exterior, Orion is a ball of adolescent anxiety, completely consumed by irrational fears of bees, dogs, the ocean,...

Exclusive: BBC2 and PBS have commissioned a War of the Worlds-style hybrid drama/documentary that spotlights a near future in which extra-terrestrial life has been detected.

First Contact will combine real documentary interviews with some of the world’s most foremost scientists alongside a fictionalized narrative written and directed by World According to Jeff Goldblum director Nic Stacey. BBC Studios Science Unit, which was behind Netflix’s BAFTA-winning The Surgeon’s Cut (pictured) and BBC2/PBS’ The Planets, is once again collaborating with the two networks on the feature.

Leading scientists now believe there is a genuine possibility we will shortly detect extra-terrestrial life and the show will profile the latest in cutting edge technology while featuring contributions from the likes of Dr Jill Tartar, a pioneer who was the inspiration for Jodie Foster’s character in Contact, along with showcasing the James Webb space telescope.

Exec producer Andrew Cohen,...

The International Documentary Association has announced nominations for its 37th annual awards, with “Summer of Soul” picking up four noms and “Not Going Quietly” nabbing three.

Winners will be announced Feb. 5 at the awards ceremony at Paramount Studios.

“Summer of Soul,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s look at 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival, picked up nominations for Thompson for director in addition to best feature, best music doc and best editing. “Not Going Quietly,” about healthcare activist Ady Barkan, received noms for Nicholas Bruckman for best director along with best feature and best writing.

IDA members may vote online for the best feature and best short categories starting Dec. 13.

PBS earned 14 nominations, followed by Netflix and Hulu with seven nominations each and HBO with six. This year’s submissions included 314 documentary features, 137 shorts, 172 series, 54 student films, 29 music docs and 41 audio documentaries or podcasts.

Here’s the full list of 2021 nominees:

Best Feature...

Kelsey Grammer, Phyllis Logan Headline Thriller ‘No Way Up’

Kelsey Grammer (X-Men: The Last Stand) and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) have been set to lead the survival thriller No Way Up. Directed by Claudio Fäh (Wilder), the pic shows passengers fighting for air supply after their plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. BAFTA-winner Annalise Davis and Molly Conners (Birdman) are producing with Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall of Altitude Film Entertainment. The company will handle the film’s worldwide sales and will introduce to buyers at the American Film Market. A spring 2022 shoot will take off in Malta.

Rio Ferdinand Exec’ing Docuseries Following Emerging Soccer Stars

Soccer star Rio Ferdinand is executive producing documentary South Of The River, a three-parter showcasing the next generation of sporting talents. The project comes from Gabriel Clarke (Le Mans) of Noah Media Group, Jay Gill (Out Of Their Skin) is directing.

PBS dominated the documentary portion of this year’s News and Documentary Emmys, landing ten awards overall — including three for “Pov,” two for “Independent Lens” and two for “Frontline,” which are three of the public broadcaster’s long-running, signature series.

Netflix followed with four wins, then Showtime with three. The documentary Emmys were awarded on Wednesday by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the second of two individual ceremonies; categories honoring TV news were handed out on Tuesday.

“Tonight, we celebrate these documentary professionals who in the unprecedented year of 2020 delivered the insightful, clear, factual and timely filmmaking necessary to make sense of the tumultuous times that we live in,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO, NATAS.

Ozy CEO Carlos Watson had originally signed on to host the documentary ceremony, but bowed out earlier this week following a New York Times article chronicling questionable claims and practices inside his company.

PBS led all networks in nominations for the 42nd annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, landing 52 overall — thanks to the strength of signature series “Frontline,” “Independent Lens,” “Pov,” “Nova,” “PBS News Hour” and “Nature.”

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced this year’s nominees on Tuesday morning, noting that more than 2,200 submissions were entered, from content that premiered in calendar year 2020. CNN was next with 41 nods, including five each for “AC360,” CNN Films and “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” CNN Films docs earning nominations included three for “John Lewis: Good Trouble.”

When combined with various partnerships, “Frontline” landed the most nominations overall, with 19. Next in line, with 16 each, were CBS’ “60 Minutes” and Vice’s “Vice News Tonight.”

Best documentary nominations included three for PBS: Frontline’s “Once Upon A Time In Iraq,” Independent Lens’ “Belly of the Beast” and Pov’s “Advocate.” They’re up against Netflix’s “Athlete A,...

The BAFTA Film Awards took place on April 11, and now the time has come for the BAFTA Television Awards to take centre stage. On April 27, the Virgin Media must-see moment award nominees were announced, which saw the likes of Gogglebox, Bridgerton, and Britain's Got Talent featured on the list.

On April 28, the full list of nominees were announced, with The Crown nominated for 10 awards, Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You nominated for eight awards, and Steve McQueen's Small Axe leading the charge with an impressive 15 nominations. On June 6, the full BAFTA Television Awards ceremony took place on BBC One, with I May Destroy You leading the charge after winning two awards.

Comedy Entertainment Programme:

Winner: The Big Narstie Show

Charlie Brooker's Antiviral Wipe

Rob & Romesh Vs

The Ranganation

Daytime

Winner: The Great House Giveaway

Jimmy McGovern's Moving

Richard Osman's House Of

The Chase

Drama...

The BAFTA TV Awards winners have been announced, and it was a big night for Michaela Coel, whose BBC and HBO series I May Destroy You scooped two of the biggest prizes of the evening.

During a pre-recorded ceremony at London’s iconic Television Centre, Coel walked away with best leading actress for her performance as sexual assault survivor Arabella, while I May Destroy You also scooped best mini-series, beating Steve McQueen’s Small Axe.

It follows I May Destroy You’s strong showing last month at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards, which celebrates the work of those working behind the scenes. Coel scored a BAFTA mask for best drama writer and best director at the ceremony.

After winning leading actress on Sunday, Coel collected her award in-person and thanked intimacy coach Ita O’Brien. Coel said O’Brien’s presence meant she could make a series about “exploitation, loss of respect,...

Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” won two BAFTAs in a year where there was no single dominant winner at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ (BAFTA) Television Awards on Sunday.

The BBC/HBO show won best mini-series and leading actress for Coel, who dedicated the award to the production’s director of intimacy Ita O’Brien.

“Thank you for your existence in our industry, for making the space safe for creating physical, emotional, and professional boundaries so that we can make work about exploitation, loss of respect, about abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process,” Coel said.

Paul Mescal won leading actor for BBC/Hulu show “Normal People.”

In the coveted drama series category, Lennie James’ Sky Atlantic show “Save Me Too” won over fancied rivals “The Crown,” “Gangs of London” and “I Hate Suzie.”

At the BAFTA TV Craft Awards that were announced in May,...

BAFTA pulled the curtain back on nominations for its TV and TV Craft Awards on Wednesday ahead of ceremonies that take place on June 6 and May 24 respectively. As always with award nominations, the list of those recognized had tongues wagging. Let’s walk through some of the biggest themes.

The snubs

There were some eyebrow-raising absentees among the nominations this year. Netflix’s The Crown scored a decent haul of 10 nominations, but none of them were for Olivia Colman, Gillian Anderson, and Emma Corrin, who played Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, and Princess Diana respectively. The snubs were all the more notable given that all three were Golden Globe-nominated, while Anderson and Corrin were victorious at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association prizes. Other surprises included the absence of David Tennant for his role as serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV series Des, while critics also felt that series including ITV...

Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” capped a triumphant edition of the U.K.’s Royal Television Society program awards for the BBC as the broadcaster scored 14 wins.

Coel won actor – female, and writer, and the show also won best miniseries.

In addition to the 29 competitive categories, three further awards were presented. The Judges’ Award was presented to Anne Mensah, VP, original series at Netflix, for her commitment to reflecting society’s diversity on screen; the Outstanding Achievement Award went to “It’s a Sin” creator Russell T. Davies; and the Special Award went to trade association Pact, for its contribution and support to the U.K. television industry throughout 2020.

Chair of the awards, Big Talk Productions CEO Kenton Allen, said: “The incredible range of programming we have seen across all genres and categories in this uniquely challenging year has been exceptional and a terrific representation of the thriving and...

TIFF Drama Gets Canada Deal

Exclusive: Following its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, levelFILM has acquired Canadian rights to crime noir Akilla’s Escape by director Charles Officer, who co-wrote the script with Wendy ‘Motion’ Braithwaite. Produced by Jake Yanowski & Officer of Canesugar Filmworks, pic stars slam poet Saul Williams and newcomer Thamela Mpumlwana who anchors the story about an ‘urban child-soldier’. The film is slated for a mid-2021 theatrical release. Executive producers are Martin F. Katz, Karen Wookey, and Michael A. Levine. XYZ handles international sales. Vertical has domestic rights.

Raw Hires BBC Studios Exec As COO Gold Rush and Don’t F**k With Cats producer Raw has hired Fiona Clarke, BBC Studios’ director of business and commercial for factual, to the newly-created role of chief operating officer. She will report to CEO Joely Fether and take up her role in the New Year.

Update, 6:55 Pm: Netflix got swiped in court today for swiping one of Viacom’s executives back in 2018, but not as much as expected.

Just like in his tentative order of last week, though Judge Jon R. Takasugi gutted the streamer’s argument that the Shari Redstone ruled company broke the famed seven-year rule with its ongoing contracts with then EVP Production Management Momita Sengupta. However, while also granting Viacom’s unfair competition notion, unlike his tentative order of December 8, the LA Superior Court judge did not grant Viacom the injunction it desired to ban Netflix from poaching more of its employees in the future.

Netflix ignored the latter near miss, but took the Judge to task over the former in a statement provided to Deadline after Monday’s Dtla hearing.

“Employee mobility and open, fair competition are at the heart of California’s innovation and economic prosperity,” a spokesperson for the streamer said.

For the first time in its 63-year history, BBC Studios’ renowned Natural History Unit is setting up shop outside the U.K. In 2021, the Nhu will launch a permanent satellite office in Los Angeles.

The Nhu is behind some of the world’s most iconic natural history programs, including “Blue Planet II” and “Planet Earth II,” which have been watched by more than a billion people globally. The new U.S. outfit will allow the production unit to better serve its growing roster of American buyers, with a laser focus on the streamers.

In the last 18 months alone, the unit has won projects with Apple TV Plus (“Prehistoric Planet”) and NBCUniversal (10-part landmark series “The New World”), as well as PBS (“The Green Planet”), BBC America (“Frozen Planet II”) and Discovery (“Endangered”). There’s also a collaboration in place with “Avatar” helmer James Cameron and Ocean X for Nat Geo.

It’s time to take a look at what Netflix has got coming to its library this week. Beginning on Monday, December 7th, the streaming giant is adding a haul of 19 titles, which includes a bunch of original content and a few great new licensed projects. And as you’d expect, a fair amount of it’s holiday-related.

You and your whole family can enjoy a number of festive TV specials this coming week, for instance, including Super Monsters: Santa’s Super Monster Helpers on Tuesday and Christmas editions of both Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love and The Big Show Show on Wednesday. Not to mention A Trash Truck Christmas on Friday.

For more, take a look at the full list of what’s due on Netflix from Monday to Friday – there are no new additions on the way next weekend – below and then scroll down for further highlights.

December...