In today’s TV news roundup, Showtime announced the premiere date for Season 3 of “Desus & Mero,” and Rooster Teeth and All Elite Wrestling unveiled plans for a podcast premiering Jan. 18.
DATES
Showtime revealed that “Desus & Mero” will return for Season 3 on Jan. 31. The late-night talk show — which marked the first venture into late-night for Showtime — will air at 11 p.m. each Sunday and Thursday. Co-hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero bring guests on each episode to discuss relevant topics from politics, sports, entertainment and other pressing moments from the week. The series is executive produced by Desus Nice, The Kid Mero, Lilly Burns, Tony Hernandez, Victor Lopez, Suzanne Fagel and Mike Pielocik.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Allen Media Group announced the hiring of April Ryan to the position of White House correspondent and Washington, D.C. bureau chief for broadcast network TheGrio.TV. She will take on the position starting Jan. 4, just before President-Elect Joseph Biden is expected to take office. Ryan, who served on the White House Correspondents Association board, also earned the title of journalist of the year in 2017 by the National Association of Black Journalists. TheGrio.com reached a peak monthly user amount of about 10.5 million this past summer, up from the under 1 million per month average when purchase by Byron Allen’s company in 2016.
A+E Networks‘ David “Digger” Granville-Smith announced today the promotion of Susan Tanamli to the position of chief technology officer. She will report to Granville-Smith, the company’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Tanamli, a Boston University graduate, previously worked on programming and scheduling, as well as human capital management, sales, finance and rights at A+E Networks. Her new position will oversee all of the organization’s technology, including infrastructure, cyber security and more.
PODCASTS
Rooster Teeth and All Elite Wrestling announced that AEW’s Scorpio Sky and Funhaus co-creative director James Willems will host “Wrestling With The Week,” a new podcast about wrestling, sports, video games and other entertainment-related content. It will be offered in both audio and video streams starting Jan. 18. The podcast is produced by Eric Baudour, with executive production by Tony Khan and Active Artist Management. Each episode will be approximately 30 minutes in length, providing content that appeals to both wrestling and gaming fans. Watch a trailer for the podcast below.
ACQUISITIONS
Screen Media announced that the company acquired rights to advertisement-based video on demand rights for “After The Murder of Albert Lima.” The true-crime documentary by Aengus James, who directed and produced the project, shares the story of a man who hires bounty hunters to kill the person who killed his father. It is expected to release as a Crackle original in early 2021. The film is executive produced by Gunpowder & Sky’s Van Toffler, Floris Bauer, and Jude Harris, as well as Meredith Vieira. Amy Rapp and Colin King Miller produce alongside James.
AWARDS
The Family Film Awards announced nominees for the 24th annual ceremony and announced that Ann-Margret will receive the lifetime achievement award; Bob Gale will be honored with the iconic film award for “Back to the Future”; “The Brady Bunch” cast will receive the iconic television award, and Michelle Yeoh will take home the global lifetime achievement award. The event will take place Feb. 25, with the broadcast airing on Reelz during the spring of 2021. Nominees for feature film actor include Robert Downey Jr., Mark Hamill, Will Smith, Tom Hanks and Randall Park; feature film actress nominees are Daisy Ridley, Angelina Jolie, Marisa Tomei and Saoirse Ronan. Nominees for dramatic television actor are Jason Ritter, David A.R. White, Viv Leacock and William Jackson Harper, while dramatic television actress nominees include Ming-Na Wen and Ocean White. The comedic television actor list of nominees includes Ed O’Neill, Anthony Anderson, Tim Allen and Michael Campion, while comedic television actress nominees are Zoe Perry, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kristen Bell, Nancy Travis and Tracee Ellis Ross. In the series categories, “Raising Dion,” “Finding Love in Quarantine” and “The Mandalorian” are nominated for drama, while “Black-ish,” “Fuller House,” “The Goldbergs,” “The Good Place” and “Last Man Standing” are nominated in comedy.
EVENTS
Hollywood Radio and Television Society announced an expansion of its mentorship program moving into 2021, combining the Los Angeles and New York initiatives into one and allowing mentors to choose which coast they prefer. Those interested in serving as executive mentors can apply here, though today marks the deadline for submitting. The virtual basis for this year’s program allowed for the expansion of flexibility for those involved.
USC Annenberg, the University of Michigan and consulting firm Cultique have launched the “Be a Protector” campaign to encourage Hollywood to incorporate COVID-19 safety messages into TV programming. The orgs will present a virtual panel on vaccine and mask-messaging for 9:30 a.m. PT on Dec. 17. Click here to watch: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81367433762
LATE NIGHT
Tonight, Post Malone, Kawhi Leonard and Lewis Capaldi will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” while Tina Fey, Patty Jenkins and Marcus King will be guests on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Tom Hanks and Leslie Odom Jr. will be on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” will include Stacey Abrams and Holland Taylor.