‘The Batman’ Sets Cable Debut at TNT as Part of Halloween Programming Slate Across Food Network, More Warner Bros. Discovery Channels (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The breakout popularity of “Stranger Things” and “Wednesday” was a boon for Netflix execs, but also a lesson — both forced a scramble to line up marketing and licensing deals after launch. If the streamer’s upcoming fantasy-adventure series “One Piece” similarly turns into a phenom — as the early hype indicates — this time they’ll be ready. Of all the titles promoted out of Netflix’s June 17 Tudum fan event, “One Piece” — the live-action TV series adaptation of the bestselling manga — was the most talked about, outpacing everything else featured at the São Paulo affair four to one, according to Netflix.

A slew of series from AMC Networks including Fear The Walking Dead, A Discovery of Witches and Killing Eve will stream on Max as part of an unusual digital arrangement.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Chef and restauranteur Franco Noriega has landed his own cooking show at Food Network, “Hot Dish with Franco.” If you’re familiar with Noriega from his shirtless appearances on talk shows and clips shared on social media, you’ll get the double entendre reference here, as he’s widely known as the “naked Peruvian chef.” The half-hour daytime show will premiere Sept. 30 at 12 p.m. on Food Network.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Chip and Joanna Gaines are ready to roll. The home renovation titans behind Magnolia Network are developing a roller dancing competition series for Max.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Vice TV has set the premiere date and released the trailer for “Dark Side of Comedy” Season 2, its “Dark Side” spinoff series that explores the behind-the-scenes stories of iconic comedians. Season 2 subjects include Robin Williams, Sam Kinison, Joan Rivers, Carlos Mencia, Phil Hartman, Tracy Morgan, the sitcom “Family Matters,” Ellen DeGeneres, Norm MacDonald and Gilda Radner.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Food Network fires up the second season of “Bobby’s Triple Threat” Tuesday, treating fans to the return of host Bobby Flay and the three “titan” chefs he’s once again relying on to do the cooking competition for him: Tiffany Derry, Michael Voltaggio and Brooke Williamson. The trio will face off against chef Michael Symon as a team, going for three head-to-head rounds full of surprise ingredients and evaluated by a mystery judge on the Season 2 premiere Tuesday at 9 p.m.

Catherine Bray Dondo’s dad is dead. That’s one of the first things we learn in writer-director Johnny Barrington’s spry, offbeat debut feature “Silent Roar” — this year’s Edinburgh fest opener.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” on Fox. A (food) star was born on Fox Wednesday, when Gordon Ramsay picked the winner of his new food business-focused competition series.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 2 finale of Fox’s “Crime Scene Kitchen.” While the final bake of Fox’s “Crime Scene Kitchen” Season 2 turned out to be a “Dark and Stormy” cake, inspired by the cocktail of the same name, it was a light and sunny treat for contestants Amber Croom and Yassmeen Haskins. The classically trained baking duo beat out the other two teams competing for the Joel McHale-hosted mystery baking competition’s second-season trophy in Monday’s finale episode, titled “I Need a Drink.” And they did it without even making the exact right recipe, as they had first decided to make a “Dark and Stormy” cake, they pivoted to a piña colada-flavored version when they started to doubt their detective work.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef” has been renewed for a 14th season at Fox ahead of airing its milestone 250th episode Wednesday at 8 p.m. “I cannot believe 250 episodes have flown by since we started this journey in 2010,” Ramsay told Variety.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer In the summer of strikes and labor action, calls for reality TV personalities to form a union are gaining steam. Bethenny Frankel unleashed a storm last month with her unvarnished criticism of Bravo and other unscripted-focused platforms for the way that unscripted stars are treated behind the scenes. Frankel was not shy about detailing what she described as commonplace abuses, including producers manipulating contestants for the cameras.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Nexstar reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Tuesday, revealing the TV stations group giant had turned a profit of $153 million in Q2, while its CW broadcast network posted a loss of $78 million for the April-June quarter. For the CW, which was formally acquired by Nexstar in October 2022 from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, a year-over-year comparison can’t be drawn based on the lack of financial results disclosed publicly by its former parent companies.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Dennis Miller has extended his contract as president of the CW Network through 2027. Miller (pictured above left) joined the network as president in October 2022, following its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group from Paramount Global and Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Longtime “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. spoke about the future of late-night TV at Variety and Rolling Stone’s Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime, saying he believes studios don’t realize that the more they look to downsize shows, the more likely they will face stiff competition from TikTok creators and other social media stars who can retain the rights to their content.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery reported the Hollywood writers and actors’ ongoing work stoppage had brought the company savings in the “low$100 million range” during its Q2 earnings results call Thursday. “We’re in the business of storytelling.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery lost 1.8 million streaming subscribers from April 1-June 30, the quarter during which it launched new combined streamer Max. Streaming subscribers across WBD’s HBO, Max and Discovery+ now total 95.8 million, per the company’s Q2 earnings report released Thursday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer New York City filming permits were down 65.7% year over year in July amid the beginning of the actors strike, and well into the ongoing writers work stoppage. Per the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), 260 permits were issued to 125 projects from July 1-31. Comparatively, 757 permits were granted to 173 projects in July 2022.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery streaming comms senior vice president Chris Willard is exiting the company to pursue other interests after 14 years working with the HBO team, Variety has learned.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer WGA East president Michael Winship will not be seeking re-election amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “This is a decision that was made right from the start two years ago when I was asked to return to the presidency,” Winship said in a statement sent to guild members Tuesday, just as WGAE revealed the candidates up for officer seats in its upcoming council election this September.

The rumour mill has been buzzing with speculation about the status of Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's relationship. Reports suggest that Broadway performer, Ethan, and Grammy-winning singer, Ariana, have been spending some time apart while Ethan works on resolving matters with his estranged wife. The speculations about Ariana and Ethan's relationship began to surface after Ariana's recent split from her husband of two years, Dalton Gomez.