Howard Lee Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of its Season 1 finale, Discovery Channel has ordered a second season of its hit reality series Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing for mid-season. The renewal comes amid strong ratings for the Naked and Afraid spinoff that pushes the limits of primitive survival, as contestants hunt for food, water, fire and shelter, all without clothes, to win a cash prize.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Discovery Channel’s hit franchises, like “Gold Rush” and “Deadliest Catch,” featured plenty of blood and sweat. But where were the tears? That’s something Howard Lee immediately began asking, upon taking control of the network at the end of 2022. After Lee was handed the keys to Discovery that December, “I spent my entire Christmas vacation devouring, scrutinizing, every single Discovery Channel show and familiarizing myself with it, like a fanboy.

“Shark Week,” Discovery Channel’s week-long celebration of sharks hosted by Jason Momoa, was back for its 35th year on July 23. We’re going to need a bigger boat if its ratings continue along week one’s path.

BreAnna Bell Discovery’s Shark Week 2023 premiere delivered record numbers for the network as Sunday night’s telecast became the highest-rated Shark Week premiere night in three years. The Jason Momoa-hosted big event brought in a total audience of 5.3 million across Discovery Channel, discovery+ and Max on its first night, and pushed the network to lead in primetime for all of television with Adults and Men 18-49 and #1 across cable television with Adults and Men 25-54, Adults and Men 18-49, and Adults 18-34.

News broke today (May 9) that Robert De Niro is now a father to seven after welcoming another baby.

Emily Longeretta Thirteen years ago, “Sister Wives” shocked viewers when it debuted on TLC, following the ins and outs of the polygamist Brown family — Kody Brown, his four wives, Robyn, Meri, Janelle and Christine, and their 18 children. Viewers flocked to the screen. “We needed to be heard, polygamous people,” Christine says now. “We wanted people to know that we’re just regular people who are just doing our best to raise kids and have a big, great, awesome, happy family.” Howard Lee, president of Discovery Networks and TLC, recalls the first time he saw the non-traditional Brown family. “We knew we had something special,” he says. “It was completely different from anything that we all consider what defines family.”

“We’re going to put 2022 behind us and focus on the future,” said Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery’s U.S. Networks Group.

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Daniels, who oversees the Turner networks and a number of Discovery channels, and Jane Latman, the HGTV veteran who is also in charge of Food Network, are the latest execs out at Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Book of Queer, all five episodes of which will premiere during Pride month. Produced by B17 Entertainment, the new series is a documentary with staged reenactments, a show intent on being as entertaining as it is educational.The series aims to “celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and their contributions throughout history” — “from Ancient Egypt to the Stonewall Riots” — largely by taking an approach “blending comedy with social impact.” The Book of Queer uses witty recreations “to bring each of the stories to life with a modern tone, and features interviews with revered queer historians and experts who are as colorful as the rainbow flag.”An ensemble cast made up exclusively of LGBTQ-identified actors is tasked with carrying out the recreations as they work to portray nearly 200 historical figures.Keeping them in line and on fact will be more than a dozen historians, including Lillian Faderman, Blair Imani, Michael Young, Susan Stryker, and Pulitzer Prize finalist Eric Cervini, who curated the narratives.Meanwhile, color commentary comes from narrators Margaret Cho, Dominique Jackson, Leslie Jordan, Ross Mathews, and Alex Newell.Each episode culminates in an original song and music video, created and performed by queer pop artists, including Betty Who, VINCINT, Shawnee Kish, Mila Jam, and Kaleena Zanders.“Throughout the centuries, LGBTQ+ stories have been kept under wraps for far too long,” says Howard Lee, president of TLC Streaming and Network Originals.

Jordan Moreau Discovery exec Kathleen Finch has revealed her revamped leadership team at the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery after a series of c-suite exits, which includes Tom Ascheim, Brett Weitz and more, Variety has confirmed.Nancy Daniels, who was Chief Brand Officer of Discovery & Factual, will take on content oversight at the Turner networks after the departure of Brett Weitz. She currently oversees male-focused networks like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel, will take on TNT, TBS and truTV.

Warner Bros. Discovery is moving fast with its reorganization.

EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ is currently under production on The Culpos (working title), a new reality series following model and social media star Olivia Culpo and her sisters Sophia and Aurora. The streamer will give fans an inside look at the trio as they navigate their lives, loves, and businesses together in Los Angeles when the show premieres later this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ is entering the world of teenage drag shows with Tyra Banks.

EXCLUSIVE: TLC has picked up three of its most popular family and relationship series for new seasons. The Discovery-owned network has renewed I Love a Mama’s Boy for its third season, Extreme Sisters for a second season and sMothered for Season 4.

Naman Ramachandran TLC’s Howard Lee has said that more spin-offs are in the works for ratings juggernaut “90 Day Fiancé.”The show, produced by Sharp Entertainment, began airing in 2014 and has spawned nine spin-offs, including “Before the 90 Days,” “The Other Way,” “What Now?,” “Pillow Talk,” “The Family Chantel,” the COVID-19 themed “Self-Quarantined,” “Happily Ever After,” “B90 Strikes Back!” and most recently, “Darcey and Stacey.”One or two more spinoffs are in the works, said Lee, speaking

Kate Aurthur editorFive powerhouse forces in reality television assembled recently for Variety’s Virtual TV Festival.

By Daniel D'Addario

They're back! TLC announced a new season of sMothered, the reality show about mother-daughter duos who are, well, very close, is coming Sunday, May 24. The series follows the lives of six over-the-top mother-daughter pairs with undeniable bonds.

TLC is not about to let a global pandemic stop them from airing guilty-pleasure programming.

Big news for 90 Day Fiancé fans!

By Kate Aurthur