WGN America continued to build its lineup of scripted series with the acquisition of three crime-themed series set to premiere in 2018.

The three series include Shoot The Messenger, a crime thriller starring Elyse Levesque (Orphan Black) and centering on the complex relationships between crime reporters and the police; Pure, which chronicles a secretive subculture through the eyes of a conflicted, good-hearted man trying to protect his family and preserve his faith; and 100 Code, which stars Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and the late Michael Nyqvist (John Wick, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) as cops from different parts of the world teaming up to investigate the deaths of several women in New York and Stockholm.

The acquisitions come on the heels of the network’s recent pickup of the Anna Pacquin-led drama series Bellevue.The series acquisitions also continue WGN America's move to build its scripted lineup since the cancellation of Undergroundand Outsiders earlier this year as a result of plans to reallocate resources away from the scripted series business as part of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s pending merger with WGN America parent Tribune Media.

“WGN America continues to deliver one of the best crime lineups in television,” said Gavin Harvey, president, WGN America in a statement. “These four new original series build upon our strong slate of compelling programming that offers nonstop mystery, thrills and suspense for the growing number of fans of the crime genre.”

Hulu has acquired the sixth and final season of Sony Pictures Television’s Community, giving it exclusive streaming rights to all six seasons, the subscription video-on-demand service said Monday (Aug. 15).

Hulu also expanded its deals for Sony’s Underground, Outsiders and Rescue Me. Underground and Outsiders air on Tribune-owned cable network WGN America, while Rescue Me aired on FX from 2004-11.

Earlier this year, Hulu and Sony announced a library deal, adding all episodes of Happy Endings, The Shield, Party of Five, Dawson’s Creek and Damages to the service, as well as several movies, including Jerry Maguire and Midnight in Paris.

Cult comedy hit Community starred Joel McHale as Jeff Winger, a lawyer who had to return to community college because he’d been faking his credentials for years.

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WGN America’s drama series Underground generated 1.4 million viewers for last night’s premiere episode, setting a network ratings record for an original series, according to Nielsen.

The series, which which depicts slaves escaping along the 19th century’s Underground Railroad, bested the Jan. 26 premiere of network drama Outsiders, which drew 1 million viewers in its debut.

With replays, the March 9 Underground premiere averaged 2.5 million viewers for the night, according to Nielsen.

The series, executively produced by singer/writer John Legend, stars Jurnee Smollet-Bell and Aldis Hodge.

WGN America's Jan. 26 premiere of drama series Outsiders set a network viewership record, the network said Monday.

The series, which debuted commercial free on WGN America (to read the MCN series review, click here), drew 3.9 million viewers according to Nielsen Live +3 ratings, including premiere-night replays and digital-platform views, network officials said, citing Nielsen and WGN America digital data. The premiere drew about 1 million total viewers in live plus same day results, rising to 1.78 million in L+3, per Nielsen. Four encore replays on the debut night added about 1 million viewers, according to the network, and digital platforms Crackle (the show is co-produced by WGNA owner Tribune Media and Crackle owner Sony Pictures Television), YouTube and Facebook delivered more than 1 million views. 

If you add in eight more encores (including commercials) after Tuesday, the total viewers' figure for the premiere week rises to 5.5 million, according to 80-million-subscriber WGNA.

The 13-episode series follows the exploits of a tight-knit family of renegades who have lived atop a mountain for over two hundred years and who are fighting to defend their land and way of life from the coal industry and residents of the town below.

"We felt that Outsiders was exceptional, but there is no greater validation than this kind of viewer response." said Matt Cherniss, President and General Manager, WGN America and Tribune Studios. "We’re grateful for the stellar cast and creative team, Peter Mattei, Peter Tolan and Paul Giamatti, and our producing partners at Sony Pictures Television, and we thank the fans, who continue to inspire us to deliver one-of-a-kind storytelling at WGN America."

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Pasadena, Calif. -- WGN America's two new drama series, Outsiders and Underground, will premiere commercial free, the network said Friday at its Television Critics Association press tour event.

Outsiders, which follows a tight knit family defending their land atop a mountain, debuts Jan. 26, while Underground – which tells the story of revolutionaries of the Underground Railroad – bows March 9, according to network officials.

“We will air the series premieres of each show commercial free in order to give viewers a pure and uninterrupted introduction to these two very different words,” said WGN president and general manager Matt Cherniss.

Cherniss added that WGN America will stream the first three episodes of Outsiders and Underground on OTT service Crackle, Facebook as well as WGN America and Sony Youtube channels after their respecitve premieres on the network.

WGN America also announced it will launch on Cablevision on Jan 16, extending its distribution to 80 million homes.

WGN America will debut its original scripted drama Outsiders on Jan. 26, the network said Friday.

The series, which  follows the battle between a tight-knit family of renegades living atop a rugged mountain and the town below as well as anyone who would dare to challenge them, stars David Morse (Treme), Thomas M. Wright (The Bridge), and Ryan Hurst (Sons Of Anarchy).

Outsiders is created and written by Peter Mattei and executively produced by Peter Tolan (Rescue Me), Paul Giamatti (John Adams) and Dan Carey (All Is Bright).