Disney 2023 Upfront Takeaways: Unscripted Takes Center Stage, but Marvel, ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Shogun’ Bring the Heat

With the announcement of three new Star Wars movies being made coming from Celebration, Fans are asking the big questions. When it was said that Rey would be getting another movie for her story many were surprised. With how much the Sequels divided the fandom it seemed like a low blow by Disney to add more wood to that fire.

Keeping it in the family? Scott Disick had a surprising offer for Khloé Kardashian following her split from Tristan Thompson.

Enough Said, to spin small-scale moral conflict into sharply observed, well-constructed comedy in You Hurt My Feelings (★★★★☆).In their previous outing, Louis-Dreyfus sparkled onscreen opposite James Gandolfini, playing an L.A. divorcée who discovers that the divorcé she’s dating happens to be recently divorced from the woman who’s become her new best friend.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor That was the week that was, and last week was an upfronts week like no other. Variety’s team of New York-based television and digital reporters offer a debrief on the 2023 programming presentations in New York on the latest episode of Variety weekly podcast “Strictly Business.” The drama roiling the industry was evident in all the Writers Guild of America picket signs that swarmed around the major events held from May 15 to May 17. That added to the general madness of the week that is a television and advertising industry tradition but is starting to feel anachronistic in the streaming era. But the upfronts are still a hard habit to break. Netflix even crashed the party this year, albeit virtually.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent FilmRise, the New York-based film and TV studio and streaming network, and Canal+ Docs have boarded “Missing From Fire Trail Road,” Sabrina Van Tassel (“The State of Texas vs. Melissa”)’s long-gestated documentary film about the crimes against indigenous women. “Missing From Fire Trail Road” sheds light on the case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native-American woman who disappeared in 2020, and exposes how hundreds of indigenous women continue to go missing in the US, perpetuating trans-generational trauma on Indian reservations. The announcement was made today by Max Einhorn, SVP of acquisitions and co-productions at FilmRise, Christine Cauquelin, head of documentaries at Canal+ and Van Tassel, who is also producing the feature.

Thania Garcia Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers took home the Ivor Novello award in the coveted songwriter of the year category at the 2023 ceremony on Thursday in London’s Grosvenor House. The event honored 30 music-makers across 14 categories in recognition of songwriting and screen composition. Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album was one of the most-talked-about releases of the last year and earned the indie rockers their first Brit awards and a pair of Grammys. The Ivor judges described Teasdale and Chambers’ writing, citing singles “Wet Dream” and “Chaise Lounge,” as “fresh, unapologetic and direct, with surprising melodies that demand attention.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Andrew Ross Sorkin is the co-creator of the Showtime series “Billions,” but he isn’t really known for drama in his professional life, just financial reporting. So it came as something of a surprise on Monday, when the CNBC and New York Times journalist got up on stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to tout some of the dramatic fare that NBCUniversal was able to cobble together for the advertisers and media buyers assembled in the audience. It was all part of the industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S. media companies try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory before the release of their next cycle of programming.

They were friends — until they weren’t. Ariana Madix and Tom Schwartz maintained a bond throughout the years, but things took an unexpected turn in the aftermath of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ cheating scandal.

The CW held its first upfront week meeting with the press since the Nexstar acquisition closed last year, presenting a schedule heavy on foreign acquisitions and unscripted fare. Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment for The CW, took questions after the presentation alongside network president Dennis Miller. They laid out their plans for the network going into its new era, how the acquisitions play into their overall strategy, and the future of scripted development at the network. Read on for Variety‘s takeaways from the event. Superheroes Flying Off into the Sunset?

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The upfront presentation that looks most like traditional TV came from a company that likes to tell investors, advertisers and consumers how it’s leapfrogging that entire business. Netflix on Wednesday showed dozens of scripted series and movies that could support advertising — if only Madison Avenue would take a chance and bet on its nascent efforts to sell commercials. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chris Hemsworth and Julia Roberts were only some of the actors whose efforts could be tied to advertising. Counterparts like NBCUniversal and Fox Corp. were hard-pressed to do the same earlier this week. “We are just getting started,” said Peter Naylor, vice president of global advertising sales at Netflix.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery kicked off its 2023 upfront presentation in a no-frills way, with an overall brand sizzle and ad chief Jon Steinlauf giving a few remarks on stage at the Theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday. While the presentation covering HBO, Max, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, Discovery and more Warner Bros. Discovery brands was shorter than last year’s show (which was the company’s first since the merger that created it last April) the tight 90-minute presentation still covered each of its key divisions. Albeit, with much less sizzle, with no stars in attendance amid the writers strike. “Let me just start by saying I am hopeful that a fair resolution is found soon with the writers,” HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys said, adding that he hopes for a return of talent to the stage, “making this a far more entertaining show” compared to “me and my clips.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter ABC has ordered the drama “High Potential” starring Kaitlin Olson to series. The announcement was made ahead of the Disney upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday afternoon. The series order represents the first such order to come from ABC’s pilot crop this season. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the network’s other five pilots remain in contention at this time. The project now known as “High Potential” was originally ordered to pilot at ABC in September 2022, with Olson boarding the show in February. It is based on the French series “Haut Potentiel Intellectuel (HPI).”

Note: This story contains spoilers from the “9-1-1” Season 6 finale.Filming for the Season 6 finale of “9-1-1” pushed Oliver Stark to the limit, and that’s just how he likes it.The first responder drama took a massive swing with its final episode at Fox, featuring a massive overpass collapse that put the lives of the entire crew of station 118 in danger. A mildly injured Buck (Stark) — who saw his own life hanging in the balance after being struck by lightning earlier this season — got to help rescue his teammates, including performing an elaborate stunt where he repelled back and forth to save people stuck in an ambulance hanging off the collapsed piece of highway.“That was one long take!” Stark shared with TheWrap.

The NBCUniversal Upfront kicked off a week of events in New York amid a writers strike.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Fox Entertainment’s CEO addressed the decision to cancel “9-1-1” and the show’s subsequent move to ABC during a conference call with the press ahead of the network’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York. “We look at shows in two different ways,” said Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment. “First and foremost from a creative lens and how much we like the creative. And the second thing is really the economics of that. I think we felt moving forward into what is really a new era of television, the economics weren’t going to pan out on this show for us. The decision was made there that the business model wasn’t right for us and that 20th TV would take the show back.”

VIVIZ, Kang Daniel and Epik High have joined the line-up of the upcoming ‘K-pop Stars Festival’, to be held in Poland.‘K-pop Stars Festival’ is set to feature a line-up of twelve artists over three days, to be held in Warsaw, Poland from July 7 to 9. Tickets to the upcoming event are available now from 390,000zł to 4,000,000zł through GoingApp.The festival is described as “a 3-day celebration of K-Pop music and Korean atmosphere in the center of Europe” on its official website.

Twitter accounts, including those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk, in one of the biggest hacks in social media history. Joseph James O’Connor, also known as PlugwalkJoe, pleaded guilty in New York on Tuesday to his role in the July 2020 hacking, in addition to cyberstalking and multiple other schemes. O’Connor was extradited from Spain on April 26 to face charges which carry a total maximum sentence of more than 70 years in prison.

Courtside couture! While NBA games are all about the nail-biting plays and energetic cheers, they also bring seriously stylish ensembles from Hollywood’s A-listers.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Paramount’s Streaming Data & Marketing Group is making two high-profile changes under Domenic DiMeglio, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Paramount Streaming. Firstly, Michael Engelman has been named chief marketing officer of Paramount+ Domestic and Showtime. In that role, he will oversee consumer marketing, strategy, partnerships, lifecycle marketing, customer care, and social and creative execution for all U.S. campaigns. He will be based in Los Angeles. Secondly, Puja Vohra has been named executive vice president of consumer marketing for Paramount+ and Showtime. She will oversee brand, media, and program marketing for Paramount+ and Showtime and will be based in New York.

Severance is the latest series to be shut down as a result of strike picketing.