“Inside the Actors Studio” is on the move.
Ovation TV and the Actors Studio have partnered to produce and air future episodes of the award-winning interview series about the art of acting, which has aired on Bravo since its launch in 1994. As part of the agreement, Ovation will also curate content from the series’ extensive library for additional episodes.
Ovation will premiere the new episodes in the Fall of 2019. James Lipton, the series’ creator, original host and executive producer, will turn the microphone over to a number of rotating guest hosts, who are in consideration now by the network and The Actors Studio.
“It’s very gratifying to see the legacy of ‘Inside The Actors Studio’ being carried forward for a new generation to appreciate and enjoy,” said Lipton. “I made a vow early on that we would not deal in gossip — only in craft, and Ovation, as a network dedicated to the arts, will continue that tradition with the next seasons of the series. I’m excited to see the new hosts engage with the guests and students and continue to entertain viewers in the U.S. and around the world.”
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“Inside The Actors Studio” is a televised craft seminar for the students of The Actors Studio MFA program at Pace University. Paul Newman, a former Actors Studio president, was the show’s first televised guest. The series has gone on to host a wide range of award-winning actors and directors over the past two decades, over 200 in all. Among those are Sally Field, Ellen Burstyn, Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Sidney Pollack, Carol Burnett, Jessica Lange, Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Billy Crystal, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Jeremy Irons, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, and scores of others. The series has received 20 Emmy nominations in the Outstanding Informational Series or Special category, winning the award in 2013.
“’Inside The Actors Studio’ is a series that fits perfectly with Ovation’s mission to provide viewers with diverse arts programming, and we’re doing it from the heart of New York City with the support of our partners at AT&T/DIRECTV, Comcast, Charter, Verizon FiOS and independent cable operators across the country,” said Charles Segars, CEO of Ovation.
The series will continue to be filmed at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University’s New York City campus. In addition to having exclusive linear and digital rights in the U.S. to new episodes of “Inside The Actors Studio,” Ovation will also control all international rights to such episodes.
Gray Coleman of Davis Wright Tremaine and Michael Kagan of ICM represented The Actors Studio, and Rob Rader, General Counsel, negotiated on behalf of Ovation.