Clerkenwell Films & Envision Entertainment Team For Finishing School Drama From Rising Writer Amy Mason

EXCLUSIVE: The End of the F***ing World producer Clerkenwell Films and Envision Entertainment are co-creating a six-part drama series about a working-class teenage girl sent to an elite finishing school.

Swans is now in development as female-led show set in the so-called ‘Swinging ’60s.’ It will include “a rich seam of humour, scandals and singular characters, touching on social themes of class and women’s rights” and “a cast of international characters” that represent the diversity of British life in the 1960s, according to the producers.

The show is from rising writer Amy Mason, and follows 19-year-old working-class east London girl Ally, who joins a posh finishing school when her street trader dad wins the football pools.

The story was inspired by the real life experiences of Mason’s mother and aunt, who both attended a finishing school just as society was changing for women. It marks Mason’s first TV screenwriting project. She is part of Channel 4’s TV writers’ scheme and has written for The News Quiz, The Now Show and Dave series Hypothetical.

To date, Mason has worked as a theater maker (The Islanders, Mass, Hollering Woman Creek) and novelist (The Other Ida) and stand-up comedian, in which capacity she was Funny Women awards finalist 2018. She has written and performed two monologues for BBC Radio 4 and has several TV shows in development.

Envision, which is a London-based global content creator behind shows such as Nippon TV co-pro Connected: The Homebound Detective, first picked up the project, with its Chief Content Officer David Barron then taking it to BBC Studios-owned Clerkenwell. Barron, whose credits include the Harry Potter films and the Emma Mackie-starrer Emily, joined Envision along with former HBO Europe boss Linda Jensen in 2021, as we revealed at the time.

David Barron, Chief Content Officer at Envison, said: “I am delighted to be working with Amy and Clerkenwell Films to develop Swans. This is an exciting opportunity to explore a fascinating period in history and examine class and gender norms through an unexpected prism; and reflect on how things have progressed since then.”

Petra Fried, Joint Managing Director at Clerkenwell Films, added: “We were so excited when David and Envision brought us Swans – Amy has created a world full of glorious stories that present a fascinating and fun look at how much life was changing for young women in the 1960s. We think audiences will love this world and all of the characters in it.”

Clerkenwell is known for British shows such as Misfits, Somewhere Boy and The End of the F***ing World. It is currently working on series such as Truelove, a darkly comic Channel 4 drama starring Julie Walters and Clarke Peters.

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Hilda: Season Three; Netflix Sets Premiere Date for Final Episodes Starring Bella Ramsey

Hilda TV Show on Netflix: canceled or renewed?

(Photo: Netflix)

Hilda is returning soon for its third and final season. Netflix has announced that the last episodes of the animated series will arrive on December 7th, per Deadline. The first three episodes of the season will be shown at the Ottawa International Animation Festival later this week.

Starring Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us), Ameerah Falzon-Ojo, Oliver Nelson, Daisy Haggard, and Rasmus Hardiker, the series follows Hilda (Ramsey) as she travels to the magical wilderness of Trolberg, where she makes friends and discovers mysterious creatures.

Chantal Ling, Vice President, Original Series & Co-Productions, Mercury Filmworks said the following about the Netflix series:

“While it is always tough to see the end of a series that has been so professionally gratifying, we are thrilled to showcase the latest epic adventures of our heroine Hilda in this final season at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and for audiences around the world to be entertained when the series premieres on Netflix later this year.”

Kurt Mueller, EVP of Creative Content, Sony Pictures Television — Kids, reflected, “The production of Hilda, much like the show’s central storyline, has been a long, winding journey — and a deeply rewarding one at that.”

What do you think? Are you a fan of Hilda? Will you be sad to see this animated series end?

Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.

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NBC Unveils ‘America’ Got Talent’ Spinoff ‘Fantasy League’ With Mel B, Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum & Howie Mandel As Judges

NBC has unveiled its latest America’s Got Talent spinoff and its got a fantasy football-style format.

The network will launch AGT: Fantasy League in 2024 with judges including Mel B Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. Terry Crews will host.

It comes after Deadline revealed in May that the network had another spinoff in the works; it has previously launched spinoffs including America’s Got Talent: All-Stars, AGT: Extreme and America’s Got Talent: The Champions.

It follows Season 18 of America’s Got Talent, which premiered in May and runs through this month. It is hosted by Cowell, Klum, Mandel and Sofia Vergara and hosted by Crews.

Similar to a fantasy sports draft, the judges will each choose a roster of their favorite acts picking from winners, finalists, viral sensations and fan favorites from America’s Got Talent and Got Talent franchises around the world, all pre-selected by viewers in an initial vote.

For the first time in show history, the judges will be competing alongside the contestants and will mentor and guide the acts throughout the competition with the hopes of earning bragging rights and seeing an act from their team crowned the champion of AGT: Fantasy League.

Viewers will be able to suggest who competes on the AGT app after the AGT finale on September 27.

AGT: Fantasy League is co-produced by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. Cowell, Sam Donnelly and Jason Raff are executive producers. 

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The Wonder Years: Cancelled; No Season Three for ABC Comedy Reboot (Reactions)

The Wonder Years TV show ABC: canceled or renewed for season 3?

(Photo by: ABC/Matt Miller)

Dean Williams’ journey won’t continue for a third season. The Wonder Years has been cancelled by ABC. The second season of ten episodes finished airing a month ago.

A coming-of-age comedy series, The Wonder Years TV show was inspired by the original 1988 series. This incarnation stars Don Cheadle, Elisha “EJ” Williams, Dule Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, Laura Kariuki, Julian Lerner, Amari O’Neil, and Milan Ray. Guests in season two include Patti LaBelle, Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess, Donald Faison, Phoebe Robinson, and Bradley Whitford. Set in the late 1960s, the series takes a nostalgic look at the Williams family — Black middle-class residents of Montgomery, Alabama. The story is told through the point of view of Dean (Williams), the imaginative 12-year-old son of Bill (Hill) and Lillian Williams (Sengbloh), and the younger brother of Kim (Kariuki). Dean’s friends include Cory (O’Neil), Brad (Lerner), and Keisa (Ray), Dean’s secret crush. Dean narrates the story, looking back at his childhood as an adult (Cheadle). His hopeful and humorous recollections of his past spotlight the ups and downs of growing up in that time and place and the friendship, laughter, and lessons Dean encountered along the way.

Airing on Wednesday nights this summer, the second season of The Wonder Years averaged a 0.21 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 1.78 million viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 50% in the demo and down by 25% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM).

A year-to-year decline was not unexpected given that season two was delayed until summer when audience levels are lower. There were also 13 months between the end of the first season and the start of the second.

Hill reacted to the cancellation on Instagram and wrote:

“Be cool…. when chapter ends, another begins. Congrats to Saladin Patterson, this talented cast and our amazing crew on bringing this beautiful story to our TV screens for the last two seasons. I had hoped to share this story a little bit longer but that’s how it goes sometimes in this thing called show business. Grateful. What’s next?”

Original series cast member Danica McKeller responded to Hill’s post and wrote, “Oh no! Thank you for continuing our legacy in a beautiful way.”

Williams wrote to Hill, saying, “You will never stop being an inspiration to me. Been an honor being a part of this show with you. Cheers to what the future holds.”

The fates of The Rookie: Feds, Home Economics, and The Good Lawyer pilot are still up in the air.

What do you think? Have you watched The Wonder Years TV series on ABC? Are you disappointed that the show wasn’t renewed for a third season?

Check out our ABC status sheet to track the alphabet network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.

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Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Surprise Cancellation; No Season Three for HBO Sports Drama Series

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: canceled or renewed for season 3?

(Photo: HBO)

The Winning Time TV series is out. HBO has cancelled the low-rated series but gave producers time to give the show an ending. The season and series finale aired tonight.

A sports comedy-drama series, the Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty TV show is based on a book by Jeff Pearlman. The second season cast includes John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Adrien Brody, Jason Clarke, Gaby Hoffmann, Jason Segel, Hadley Robinson, DeVaughn Nixon, Solomon Hughes, Tamera Tomakili, Brett Cullen, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Spencer Garrett, Molly Gordon, Joey Brooks, Delante Desouza, Jimel Atkins, Austin Aaron, McCabe Slye, Thomas Mann, and Gillian Jacobs, with Michael Chiklis and Rob Morgan. The show is billed as a fast-break series about the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of professional basketball’s most revered and dominant dynasties. The second season explores the period just after the Finals in 1980 through 1984, culminating in the first professional rematch of the era’s greatest stars: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Airing on Sunday nights, the second season of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty averages a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 226,000 viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 47% in the demo and down by 40% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM).

The original version of the second season finale (which was sent to critics) ends with Magic Johnson (Isaiah) sitting in the Lakers locker room following the team’s defeat to the Boston Celtics. However, in the aired version, the episode picks up five days later and focuses on team owner Jerry Buss (Reilly) and his daughter Jeanie (Robinson) on the court, reflecting on all that had been accomplished. A montage of real footage describing what happened to each of the people ends the show.

According to Vulture, HBO gave producers a heads-up about the possible cancellation in January, and they were encouraged to make an alternate ending, just in case.

Could a third season of Winning Time be produced elsewhere? Executive producer Kevin Messick is open to it if the opportunity arises. He said:

“We haven’t really dug into that. I’ll say this: We’ve figured out a way, I think stylistically and creatively, to capture the Lakers at this time. There was kind of no better advocacy than what we got in an interview from Jeanie Buss, who we were able to finally sit down with last week.

[She] loves the show, misses her father when she watches it, is kind of wowed by the detail, is blown away by the performances of our younger actors like Quincy Isaiah and Solomon Hughes. When I showed her the two different endings, just so that she knew what was coming, she had a pit in her stomach because she lived through the loss in ’84. The first thing she said is, “You can’t end there!”

And then I showed her [the ending which aired], and she teared up seeing both the scene with her and her father, and the accomplishments that everybody went on to achieve, including her. I know it’s effective because the person that was in the room where it happened was affected by it. But, again, it wasn’t where we wanted to land.”

What do you think? Have you enjoyed watching the Winning Time TV series? Are you disappointed HBO didn’t renew this sports drama for a third season?

Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.

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Ms. Pat Becomes Latest TV Judge In Unscripted Courtroom Series For BET

EXCLUSIVE: Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams (The Ms. Pat Show) is taking on the role of TV judge in the upcoming new series Ms. Pat Settles It, premiering October 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT to air on BET. Deadline has your first look at the trailer above.

In Season 1, Williams assembles a jury of her closest friends, family members and guest stars to tackle real cases where genuine relationships hang in the balance. While she has no legal degree, she brings to the table candid, humorous and heartfelt judgments every time, according to the show’s logline.

The cases revolve around family and relationship dynamics involving everyday people who willingly accept the show’s verdict as binding. Fans can expect to see more of what they’ve come to love from Williams, moments of intense drama and uproarious comedy mirrored from her own life experiences.

The “Jury of Her Peers” will include celebrity guest jurors like Ray J, DeRay Davis, Carmen Barton, Jordan E. Cooper, Jasmine Luv and more. They will preside over cases involving financial disputes, romantic entanglements, roommate disputes and neighborly conflicts. Although real cash settlements are at stake, the core of every case is an underlying issue that has driven the litigants to their breaking points.

Ms. Pat Settles It is the first unscripted project originating from Williams’ overall deal with BET. It’s produced under a separate Basic Cable Agreement with SAG-AFTRA that incorporates the terms of the 2021-2024 SAG-AFTRA Network Code. The agreement has not expired and is not struck.

The series is executive produced by Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams. Sallyann Salsano, Dave Hamilton, Ebony McClain and Frank Miccolis also serve as executive producers for 495 Productions. Tiffany Lea Williams, Angela Aguilera, Kelly Gould and Ashley Taylor serve as executives for BET.

Williams is repped by IAG and Tigerman Management.

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Chrissy Teigen y John Legend renuevan votos en ceremonia

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: HBO Series to End After Nearly 30 Years

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel TV show on HBO: (canceled or renewed?).

(Photo: HBO)

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is ending. The HBO series will come to a close with its current 29th season, which began in January. The monthly newsmagazine debuted in April 1995, and 317 episodes have aired to date. Hosted by Gumbel, the program is executive-produced by Joe Perskie.

Per Deadline, Gumbel said the following about ending the long-running HBO sports news series:

“Since Day 1 at Real Sports, we’ve consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard and focus instead on the many societal issues inherent in the world of sports. In the process we’ve had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and so much more. Being able to do so at HBO for almost 3 decades has been very gratifying. I’m proud of the imprint we’ve made, so I’m ready to turn the page. Although goodbyes are never easy, I’ve decided that now’s the time to move on.”

Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, also spoke about the series ending:

“For 29 seasons, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel has delivered a masterclass in sports storytelling. … As the longest-running HBO series, Bryant and his Real Sports team have long been a cornerstone of HBO programming. The series will continue to resonate in the realm of sports journalism, and we are so proud to have been part of such a remarkable odyssey.”

The end date for the series was not revealed.

What do you think? Are you a fan of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel? Will you be sad to see the sports newsmagazine end?

Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.

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The Great: Cancelled, No Season Four for Hulu Period Dramedy Series

(Photo: Hulu)

The Great has been cancelled after three seasons on Hulu, per Deadline. The 10-episode third season arrived on the streaming service in May.

Created by Tony McNamara, the period dramedy series follows the life of Catherine the Great, who ruled during the late 1700s in Russia. Starring Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Bayo Gbadamosi, and Belinda Bromilow, the series’ third season follows Catherine (Fanning) and her husband (Hoult) as they try to repair their troubled marriage.

Hulu gave no reason for the cancellation of the well-received series. During its run, The Great received numerous award nominations, including nominations for an Emmy, a SAG, a Critics Choice, an Independent Spirit Award, and two Golden Globe nominations for Fanning. The series took home the Emmy for Outstanding Period Costumes in 2022.

SPOILER ALERT. Fortunately for viewers, The Great didn’t end with a big cliffhanger. Following the death of Peter, she pushes through her grief and comes out the other side stronger. The series ends with Catherine having grown as a ruler. She dances with newfound confidence and a  shorter hairstyle.

What do you think? Are you sad to hear that this series has been cancelled and will not return for a fourth season on Hulu? Did you want to see more of this story?

Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.

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