Upfronts 2024: Pilot Buzz & Other Development Updates In Another Atypical Broadcast Cycle

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The persistent vibrancy of Italian cinema, despite increasing financing difficulties, is undisputable if you look at the range of the country’s current output and what’s percolating in the pipeline. It spans from highly sophisticated new works by maestros such as Paolo Sorrentino and Luca Guadagnino to crassly commercial global megahits like Netflix Italy original “The Tearsmith” and promising fresh fare from Cinema Italiano’s next generation.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Arab cinema continues to break new ground with a fresh crop of social dramas, several of which depict female empowerment in different forms. These range from the tale of a young woman who fakes being dead so she can leave everything behind, to a rape-revenge thriller titled “Beretta,” just like the semi-automatic pistol used by Suad, its mute protagonist. Below is a compendium of promising upcoming Arabic-language films in various stages that will be surfacing either at festivals or on streamers.

There were SO many stars in attendance at the 2024 Disney Upfront presentation held on Tuesday (May 12) at Javits Center in New York City.

Ethan Shanfeld Raven-Symoné has signed a multiyear overall deal with Disney Branded Television that includes a pilot greenlight for a “Raven’s Home” spinoff series titled “Alice in the Palace.” Disney also announced that “Raven’s Home,” itself a spinoff of “That’s So Raven,” will not return for a seventh season. The sixth and final season aired from April to September 2023.

EXCLUSIVE: Raven-Symoné is extending her relationship with Disney, which she has called home for many years, with a new multi-year overall deal at Disney Branded Television. Under the pact, she will produce, direct, and develop projects across linear and streaming, with a focus on multi-cam comedies.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host Jimmy Kimmel once again shared the Disney upfronts stage on Tuesday, providing his zingers in person for advertisers and media buyers at the programming presentation for the first time in five years. That’s because last year Kimmel didn’t attend due to the Hollywood WGA strikes. And in 2022, he was in New York — but had to be beamed in to do his routine after testing positive for COVID.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The theme of Disney‘s 2024 upfront presentation to advertisers Tuesday was “connections” — and not just because of the running bit started by “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Rob McElhenney, which involved their constant replaying of a five-second ad spot that said “Connections!” with a Disneyified logo and voiceover. No, the symbol of unity across Disney’s brands was made up of a slew of announcements from Marvel, and about such other high-wattage projects as “Star Wars,” “The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building,” the “Wizards of Waverly Place” sequel series, “9-1-1,” Ryan Murphy’s new slate of FX titles and more franchises with intersecting talent. Disney kicked off the event when Oscar-winning “Poor Things” star Emma Stone introduced the Mouse House’s big boss, Bob Iger — a job like that would traditionally go to a top ABC star.

Niki was just 15, she won a contest and was given the opportunity to open for Taylor Swift’s ‘Red Tour’ in Jakarta.A decade later, the Indonesian pop star is headlining a tour of her own.Starting in September, the “lowkey” singer will hit arenas, auditoriums, theaters, ballrooms, music halls and event centers all over the U.S. and Canada as part of her forthcoming ‘Buzz Tour’ in support of her third studio album with the same name, due out Aug.

It’s day two of the Upfronts and Amazon is making its primetime debut.

Selome Hailu Upfronts week has kicked off in New York and so too has the annual spring tradition of networks making the final calls on which shows will and will not survive for another season. But broacast and cable channels are not alone in this process anymore. As Variety noted in early May, streamers like Netflix and Amazon have pivoted to ad-supported tiers, prodding them to make their first-ever upfront presentations to woo advertisers.

Lego Masters host Will Arnett kicked off the 2024 Fox Upfront by introducing most of the celebrity players for the new season, including Jon Hamm, Olivia Culpo, Tom Brady and of course Rob Lowe, who he introduced as coming straight from St. Elmo’s Fire.

Fresh from being roasted on Netflix, Tom Brady turned up to the Fox Upfronts.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large At the NBCUniversal upfronts, they saved the best for almost last: “Late Night with Seth Meyers” host Seth Meyers hit the Radio City Music Hall stage to throw out a few quips before introducing NBCUniversal ad sales chief Mark Marshall. Meyers came out swinging: “Hello and welcome to the NBC upfronts. If you’re looking for the Fox News upfronts, that’s happening outside a lower Manhattan courtroom,” he said to chuckles.

The traditional pilot process may be dying out but that’s not stopping the glitz and glamor of the TV Upfronts in New York.

Looking at the crop of new scripted series selected by the broadcast networks for 2024-25, one cannot help but reminisce about the 20th anniversary of what may have been broadcast television’s greatest season ever.

Reboots, as the past few years have shown, are beloved by the TV business. This week’s makeover centers on the upfronts, a decades-old industry ritual revitalized by a new push into streaming ads.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer When NBCUniversal kicks off TV’s traditional week of upfront presentations on Monday, picket-free sidewalks outside Radio City Music Hall will be a sight for sore eyes following last year’s noisy protests in the first weeks of what proved to be the nation’s “hot labor summer.” Hosting a programming presentation at a megawatt New York City venue like Radio City or Javits Center is stressful enough. Executives are eager to return to business as usual in wooing Madison Avenue.

William Earl UPDATED: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 13-16 for the springtime ritual of courting advertisers and media buyers and presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season. The industry is looking forward to a return to form after the disruption of last year’s writers and actors strikes.

EXCLUSIVE: Hiroyuki Sanada, star and producer of FX‘s limited series Shōgun, has closed a deal to return as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, sources tell Deadline. Securing Sanada, whose character’s journey to become shōgun and lead Japan to an era of peace was chronicled in the 10-episode adaptation of James Clavell’s novel, has been considered crucial to any plan to extend Shogun beyond its original installment.

one viewer said on X, formerly Twitter, “John Mulaney’s hair in Everybody’s in LA is beautiful.” “I like the Clark Kent thing John Mulaney’s got going on with his hair,” another said. “Is John Mulaney wearing Jason Bateman’s old hair?” another fan speculated. Another audience member pondered, “Why has John mulaney adopted the TikTok e boy middle part long hair look.