Prime Video will examine the history of Black quarterbacks in the NFL in a new documentary series debuting September 24.

The three-part series, Evolution of the Black Quarterback, follows NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick as he speaks to former players, as well as celebrities to explore the history and impact of Black quarterbacks on and off the field. 

The documentary features interviews with several past and present Black QBs, including Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Cam Newton, Dak Prescott, Donovan McNabb, Warren Moon and Doug Williams, along with such personalities as Common, Deion Sanders, Larry Wilmore, and Jamie Foxx.

Evolution of the Black Quarterback is executive produced by Michael Strahan, Constance Schwartz-Morini and FredAnthony Smith.

The series joins several new Prime Video sports documentaries in development, including a profile of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, a four-part series on the history of the Madden video game, an anthology about epic Game 7s and a true-crime documentary about a Kansas City Chiefs superfan and serial bank robber. The streaming service has also greenlit a third season of its Coach Prime docuseries.

Amazon Prime Video announced Monday that its Australian adaptation of The Office will debut all eight episodes of the first season on October 18.

The comedy series is the 13th version of the global hit franchise. It will be called The Office Australia.

While each adaptation tends to have its differences, the premise of an office on the brink of shutdown remains largely consistent.

Also Read: Amazon NBA Deal Sets Pick for Prime Video Price Hike in 2025, Analyst Says

The streaming service released a first-look image of the series Monday, featuring new boss Hannah Howard (Felicity Ward), the series' first ever female lead.

According to Amazon's official synopsis for The Office Australia, "Hannah Howard is the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her ‘work family’ together.”

The Office Australia is an Amazon original series that is being co-produced by BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, Bunya Entertainment and Amazon MGM Studios.

The series was developed by writers Julie De Fina and Jackie van Beek, who also served as executive producers.

The original BBC version of The Office ran for just two seasons from 2001 - 2003, starring Ricky Gervais. Afterwards, the U.S. version ran for nine seasons from 2005 - 2013 on NBC, with Steve Carell starring as boss Michael Scott.

Since then, international version have spun-off in Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Israel, South Africa, Poland and India, among other countries.

Currently, the U.S. and UK adaptations are available to stream on Peacock.

In addition to Ward, the Australia cast features Edith Poor, Steen Raskopoulos, Shari Sebbens, Josh Thomson, Jonny Brugh, Susan Ling Young, Raj Labade, Lucy Schmidt, Zoe Terakes, Pallavi Sharda and Claude Jabbour.

Prime Video will again step into the pay-per-view boxing ring to distribute the September 14 Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga super middleweight championship bout.

The fight card from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which also features a co-main event bout between middleweight champion Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia, will be Prime Video’s fourth PPV boxing event this year and its second featuring Alvarez, arguably PPV boxing’s most lucrative draw. The undisputed middleweight champion headlined Prime Video’s May 4 PPV card against Jaime Munguia, which reportedly drew more than 500,000 PPV buys. 

The Alvarez-Berlanga PPV fight is slated to occur on the same day as a scheduled UFC mixed martial arts PPV event in Las Vegas. 

Also Read: Prime Video Punches Up Live Sports Lineup with Premier Boxing Champions Distribution Deal

The Alvarez-Munguia fight comes as the PPV boxing industry prepares for ESPN’s August 3 event between undefeated welterweight champion Terence Crawford and junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov.   

Also on the upcoming PPV boxing schedule are ESPN’s October 12 light heavyweight title bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol and DAZN's December 12 Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury bout, a rematch of their May 18 PPV heavyweight championship fight, won by Usyk.  

The return of Netflix's Cobra Kai for its sixth and final season, as well as the launch of Apple TV Plus drama Lady in the Lake lead the list of original series, specials and documentaries debuting this week. 

Cobra Kai, a spinoff of the Karate Kid theatrical film franchise, will debut its sixth and final season on July 18 with the first of three parts consisting of five episodes each, according to the streaming service. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka star in the series along with William Zabka, Martin Kove, Jacob Bertrand, and Mary Mouser. 

Apple TV Plus' seven-episode drama Lady in the Lake premieres July 19 and stars Natalie Portman as a Jewish housewife seeking to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist after the disappearance of a young girl in 1960s Baltimore. Moses Ingram, Y'Lan Noel and Noah Jupe also star in the series. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 15-21. For some, viewer discretion is advised.

July 17, The Ark (returning series), Syfy

July 17, Simone Biles Rising (sports documentary), Netflix

July 17, Unprisoned (returning series), Hulu

July 18, Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (animation), Max

July 18, My Spy: The Eternal City (movie), Prime Video

July 18, Those About to Die (drama), Peacock

July 21, Snowpiercer (returning series), AMC

Prime Video will launch crime thriller series Cross, starring Aldis Hodge, on November 14. Based on characters from James Patterson’s Alex Cross book series, it stars Hodge as Cross, a decorated Washington, D.C., homicide detective and forensic psychologist who faces a sadistic serial killer who has left a string of bodies strewn around the city. 

The eight-episode series also stars Isiah Mustafa, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, and Samantha Walkes. 

Prime Video has already renewed the Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television-produced series for a second season. Cross executive producers include Patterson, Ben Watkins, Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn, Craig Siebels, Bill Robinson, Patrick Santa, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost. 

Patterson’s Alex Cross character has been portrayed in several theatrical films, including Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001), as well as by Tyler Perry in Alex Cross (2012). 

Prime Video has released the trailer for the animated series Batman: Caped Crusader. Based on DC characters, the J.J. Abrams series premieres August 1. Prime calls it “a reimagining of the Batman mythology.”

“Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear,” the network says. “Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human — the BATMAN. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.”

The voice cast includes Hamish Linklater, Jamie Chung, Diedrich Bader, Christina Ricci, Minnie Driver, Mckenna Grace and Eric Morgan Stuart. 

The show was initially ordered at HBO Max, as it was known at the time, but the project was canceled in 2022. 

Abrams, Matt Reeves and Bruce Timm executive produce, along with Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich and Sam Register. Warner Bros. Animation, Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Reeves’ 6th & Idaho produce the show.

The trailer runs for a little over two minutes. 

Season four of Trying, with Rafe Spall and Esther Smith as a married couple with two adopted children, has begun on Apple TV Plus. The season jumps ahead six years, and daughter Princess is focused on finding her birth mother. 

Spall said the six-year jump stops a show from getting set in its ways. “It’s a way of shaking things up a bit,” he said in an interview. “Pushing the envelope, moving the story forward in a way which is fresh and interesting.”

Nikki and Jason’s relationship has been redefined as they’ve evolved into parents. “Inevitably, because of their different roles to each other now in a household,” said Smith, “they’ve become less of just being each other’s partners.”

Nikki is a romantic, added Smith, and has to deal with “the loss of who they once were with each other.”

The actors said they hear from viewers who relate to the show, whether they have adopted, have been adopted, or have battled fertility challenges. Smith mentioned DMs she gets on Instagram. “People share really personal stories with how much they feel they’re represented by the show or feel less alone,” she said. “That’s such a lovely thing to read.”

The 1% Club, an offbeat game show with Patton Oswalt as host, starts on Fox June 3, following its premiere on Prime Video. The show is not so much about answering trivia questions, but how quickly the players can use logic to come up with an intelligent answer. 

“It has nothing to do with education or trivia or information,” Oswalt said. “It has to do with, how does your brain work in the moment? How fast are you on your feet with logic and intuition and, especially, listening and putting things into context?”

Oswalt had no game show host experience previously. He was sent episodes, loved the format and saw how much interacting the host does with the 100 contestants. “The fact that it dealt with so much crowd work, thinking on my feet,” he said, “I thought, ‘This could be energizing for me.’ ”

Asked about game show hosts he’s enjoyed, Oswalt mentioned a couple from Family Feud. Richard Dawson “brought a very distinct, almost un-game-show-like personality to a very structured show,” he said. 

Steve Harvey, meanwhile, “is having fun and making it his own thing,” he said. 

Oswalt also mentioned Drew Carey on The Price Is Right: “He’s so clearly having a ball.”

Did Oswalt ever see himself joining the host club? “It had never crossed my mind in a million years,” he said. “And I love it.” 

The cast of Prime Video series The Boys, including Antony Starr, Chase Crawford, Colby Minifie, Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry, will be at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Tuesday, June 18, to talk about the show. Season four of the superhero satire series starts June 13. 

An episode from the new season will screen. 

As the 92nd Street Y puts it, the show “has gained a cult following for its irreverent take on what happens when superheroes — who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods — abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good.”

Josh Horowitz, podcaster and MTV personality, will moderate the session. 

The Boys is based on the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, who are executive producers, along with showrunner Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and a bevy of others. 

Young Sherlock, with Guy Ritchie directing and executive producing, is a go at Prime Video. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Sherlock. Prime Video calls it the “origin story of the world’s most famous detective as he unravels a global conspiracy.”

Inspired by Andrew Lane’s book series Young Sherlock Holmes, there are eight episodes. 

Ritchie directed the films Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. His other films include Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and The Covenant. 

Matthew Parkhill is writer and showrunner. His TV credits include Deep State and Rogue and his film work includes The Caller and Dot the i.

In the series, Sherlock Holmes is disgraced and raw when he finds himself caught up in a murder mystery at Oxford University which threatens his freedom. He dives into the case and unravels a global conspiracy. 

“This exciting new chapter about one of the world’s best-known literary characters, will delight our global customers with its captivating storytelling,” Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios, said. “With the brilliant creative team, led by Guy Ritchie and Matthew Parkhill, we will explore untold mysteries of how young Sherlock found his way to a life of truth-seeking.”

“In Young Sherlock we’re going to see an exhilarating new version of the detective everyone thinks they know in a way they’ve never imagined before,” Ritchie said. “We’re going to crack open this enigmatic character, find out what makes him tick, and learn how he becomes the genius we all love."

Executive producers, along with Parkhill, Ritchie and Lane, are Simon Kelton, Ivan Atkinson, Simon Maxwell, Dhana Gilbert, Colin Wilson and Marc Resteghini. 

Arthur Conan Doyle hatched Sherlock Holmes back in the late 1800s. The franchise is popular on modern TV. The CW has a Sherlock & Daughter series debuting in the fall, and CBS has one called Watson, based on Holmes’ partner. 

The 1% Club, a game show hosted by Patton Oswalt, debuts on Prime Video May 23 and then on Fox June 3. The show is not so much about answering trivia questions, but about applying logic, reasoning skills and common sense, according to Prime Video. 

The 1% Club “is a chance to test how your brain works through a series of questions that all have a right answer but can also lead to a series of entertaining wrong answers along the way,” said Fox. 

Each episode begins with 100 contestants, and they are whittled down with each wrong answer. At the end, the remaining contestants aim to answer a question that only 1% of the country, based on a scientific survey, can get right. 

Oswalt has never hosted a game show, and told B+C he never even thought about doing so. “It never crossed my mind in a million years,” he said. 

The 1% Club has aired in the U.K. Oswalt was sent episodes of the show, and started to envision himself as host. “I loved the format, I loved the energy of it,” he said, “and how non-conventional it was, with the audience and contestants.” 

The host mixes and mingles with the 100 contestants, and Oswalt saw potential there. “I thought, ‘This could be energizing for me,’” he said. 

Oswalt played Spence in The King of Queens and was adult Adam and the narrator on The Goldbergs. He has also appeared in Parks and Recreation, A.P. Bio, Community and Veep, among many other series and films. 

He said he prepares for hosting The 1% Club “by not preparing.”

“I feel like, if I watched other game shows, I’d pick up their pattern and their rhythm, and it would make me less spontaneous and less present when I’m talking to people,” said Oswalt. “I treat it as if I am going to a gathering with a bunch of people and I’m gonna be wandering around the room, meeting people and talking. And that’s exactly how I think about it.”

Asked about game show hosts he’s enjoyed over the years, Oswalt mentioned Richard Dawson and Steve Harvey on The Family Feud, and Drew Carey on The Price is Right. He also mentioned being on Hollywood Squares alongside Whoopi Goldberg. Tom Bergeron was the host, “but she was the fuel that kept it going,” said Oswalt. “It wasn’t, oh god, we’re on a game show. It was, we get to do this. Do you know how lucky we are to get to do a game show? That kind of enthusiasm is infectious and fun.”

Oswalt hopes to bring that same level of enthusiasm to The 1% Club. 

He offers a tip on successful gameplay: “The harder questions, they will give away the answer in the question the way that it’s asked, if you listen very, very carefully,” Oswalt said. “Some people pick up on that and some people don’t.” 

History’s documentary series The Great War highlights a light schedule of original shows set to debut during the Memorial Day holiday week.

The two-part The Great War premieres May 27 and chronicles the U.S. involvement in World War I in 1918, according to History Channel. The four-hour series, executive produced by Robin Roberts, concludes on May 28.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of May 20-27. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

May 20, Stax: Soulville U.S.A., (documentary), HBO

May 21, Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza (documentary), Paramount Plus

May 22, Trying (returning series), Apple Tv Plus

May 23, The Blue Angels (documentary), Prime Video

May 23, Evil (returning series), Paramount Plus

May 23, Tires (comedy), Netflix

May 24, Atlas (movie), Netflix

May 24, The Beach Boys (documentary), Disney Plus

May 25, Gaga Chromatica Ball (documentary), Max

May 27, Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter (documentary), ID

Controlling 93 of the top 100 most watched U.S. TV programming events last year, the National Football League can command an audience of 12 million ESPN viewers just by convening a room full of college-age jocks in suits, sitting around with their families and girlfriends, nervously waiting for their name to be called, as last month’s NFL draft once again revealed. 

So when the most influential content source in all of technology, media and telecom announces the primetime games schedules for three media partners collectively paying it around $4.65 billion a season ... well, it kind of matters. 

Also read: Amazon Touts Vastly Improved 2024 'Thursday Night Football' Schedule Full of Divisional Rivalries, Fewer Turkeys

Below are the 2024 regular season game schedules for ABC/ESPN's Monday Night Football, NBC's Sunday Night Football and Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football. Next TV, which is hopeful that its Seahawks can turn things around in 2024 after sunsetting venerable head coach Pete Carroll, added some notes on how we think each package shapes up as a TV viewing choice. 

Monday Night Football

Disney is paying the NFL an average of $2.7 billion a season for the rights to show the venerable Monday Night Football package on ESPN and ABC. 

It's not only the prestigious and priciest (by far) of the NFL's three primetime TV packages, it also has the most games (23), with five Monday night doubleheaders split across ESPN cable and ABC broadcast. 

Monday Night Football averaged 17.4 million viewers in 2023, up 30% from 2022. 

Our take on the 2024 MNF schedule: The opening night showdown between New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers, playing his first game in a year following achilles tendon surgery, and the Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers could draw 20 million or more viewers. 

Disney gets the old-world “America's Team,”  the Dallas Cowboys, twice. Like a lot of football fans, we don’t think the Cowboys have actually been relevant since Troy Aikman wore a helmet. But they remain the league’s biggest regular season TV draw. And our analysis here is based on audience potential.

MNF features the “new” America’s team, the Detroit Lions, two times, as well — including in a late season rematch of the 2023 NFC title game against the San Francisco 49ers. The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are on a couple of times, too, hosting the NFC South Division Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 9.

But we don't see a single division rivalry game on the schedule until week 15, when the Chicago Bears and No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams visit the Minnesota Vikings ... in a matchup that may not have playoff implications, with both teams breaking in new quarterbacks. 

Certainly, a lot of things will be learned about the teams from now and Sept. 9, when MNF hosts its first game. But based on what we know right now, there's just not enough on the schedule to get $2.7 billion dollars’ worth of excited about. 

Week 1 (Sept. 9, 2024): New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers (simulcast on ABC)
Week 2 (Sept. 16): Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 3 (Sept. 23): Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Washington Commanders at Cincinnati Bengals (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC)
Week 4 (Sept. 30): Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC)
Week 5 (Oct. 7): New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 6 (Oct. 14): Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
Week 7 (Oct. 21): Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Week 8 (Oct. 28): New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 9 (Nov. 4): Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 10 (Nov. 11): Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Rams
Week 11 (Nov. 18): Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys
Week 12 (Nov. 25): Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 13 (Dec. 2): Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos
Week 14: (Dec. 9): Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys
Week 15 (Dec. 16): Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Atlanta Falcons at Las Vegas Raiders (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Week 16 (Dec. 23): New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers
Week 17 (Dec. 30): Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Week 18 (Saturday, Jan. 4): Doubleheader TBA

Sunday Night Football

Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit is paying the league $950 million this season for a package of 18 regular season games. NBC is coming off a 2023 campaign that averaged 21.4 million viewers, up about 8% vs. 2022. 

Our take on the 2024 MNF schedule: NBC will feature the Cowboys three times, including in two history-laden matchups with the Pittsburgh Steelers and 49ers. The Chiefs and Lions will be on SNF twice, as well.

There aren’t many divisional rivalry games, but there are plenty of contests that feel like early conference playoff matchups, including the Los Angeles Rams playing the Lions in the Sept. 8 opener, the Buffalo Bills visiting the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 29, and the L.A. Chargers at the Chiefs on Dec. 8. 

There also aren’t a ton of appearances from teams that didn't make the playoffs last year. And those that did make the cut are in interesting matchups, including the Seattle Seahawks (9-8 last year and barely missing the postseason) hosting the resurgent Green Bay Packers on Dec. 15. 

This seems to be a strong schedule for the licensing money NBCU is paying the NFL. 

Week 1 (Sept. 8, 2024): Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions
Week 2 (Sept. 15): Chicago Bears at Houston Texans
Week 3 (Sept. 22): Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons
Week 4 (Sept. 29): Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens
Week 5 (Oct. 6): Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 6 (Oct. 13): Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants
Week 7 (Oct. 20): New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 8 (Oct. 27): Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
Week 9 (Nov. 3): Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 10 (Nov. 10): Detroit Lions at Houston Texans
Week 11 (Nov. 17): Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets
Week 12 (Nov. 24): Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams
Week 13 (Dec. 1): San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills
Week 14 (Dec. 8): Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 15 (Dec. 15): Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks
Week 16 (Dec. 22): Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys
Week 17 (Dec. 29): Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns
Week 18: TBD

Thursday Night Football

Amazon is paying the NFL an average of $1 billion a season (also through 2033, like all NFL TV deals) for TNF. In the package’s inaugural campaign on Amazon Prime Video in 2022, it was a meme as to how many turkey games were featured matching teams with no postseason relevance. 

Things got better last season, with viewership increasing 24% year over year to 11.86 million streaming fans, on average. And this year, we think Amazon really scored, with 12 of its 16 games featuring divisional rivalry matchups. 

In fact, we think this is the most intriguing of the three primetime NFL game slates. 

Week 1 (preseason, Aug. 22): Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 2 (Sept. 12): Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Week 3 (Sept. 19): New England Patriots at New York Jets
Week 4 (Sept. 26): Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
Week 5 (Oct. 3): Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
Week 6 (Oct. 10): San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Week 7 (Oct. 17): Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints
Week 8 (Oct. 24): Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
Week 9 (Oct. 31): Houston Texans at New York Jets
Week 10 (Nov. 7): Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Week 11 (Nov. 14): Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12 (Nov. 21): Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
Week 13 (Black Friday, Nov. 29): Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 14 (Dec. 5): Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
Week 15 (Dec. 12): Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
Week 16 (Dec. 19): Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 17 (Dec. 26): Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears

Amazon’s first-ever upfront presentation, at Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan, got a late start due to its remote location. But the energy spiked when Alicia Keys took the stage. 

“Growing up in New York City, there’s something about connection that you find really important,” she said, adding that her common ground with Amazon is “how do we connect with people, how do we bring it deeper and farther?”

After singing “Empire State of Mind,” she yelled, “It’s gonna be a beautiful dayyyy!”

Paul Kotas, senior VP, Amazon Advertising, came out and spoke about Lord of the Rings, Reacher and live sports, including Thursday Night Football. 

 Also Read: Continuing Coverage of the 2024 Upfronts

“At Amazon we’re never done innovating,” he said, then introduced Mike Hopkins, senior VP and head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. He called advertising on Prime “a major leap forward,” and “an entirely new chapter for us and the industry.”

He boasted about Fallout’s 80 million viewers, and The Idea of You approaching 50 million. 

Then it was Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios. “No other studio offers creators so many ways to engage with an audience,” she said, citing original programs, books, fashion, podcasts and retail. 

Next up in terms of originals is Tomb Raider, from Phoebe Waller Bridge, and Noir, from Nicolas Cage. 

Salke brought Jake Gyllenhaal, star of Road House, which Salke said has also had close to 80 million views. 

Gyllenhaal said the project was “such big shoes to fill.”

He added, “It was exhilarating to feel all the intensity and the buzz and the vibe.”

Alan Ritchson came out to discuss Reacher. “All we have to do is honor the books,” he said. “We just have to authentically honor the books and, so far so good.”

Aldis Hodge was out next to discuss Alex Cross. The series’ success “proves that this character is absolutely timeless,” he said. 

Hodge said the show aimed to honor the character’s legacy, while also creating something that reflects “the here and the now.”

Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell then came out to discuss the offbeat rom-com You’re Cordially Invited. Ferrell, the self-proclaimed “rom-com king,” said he taught Witherspoon a few things about acting in such films. 

Witherspoon countered, “You’re so funny when you run around naked. Because your body’s so weird.”

Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham talked up their untitled series, which Spencer called an “action drama comedy.” It centers on a female assassin. 

Waddingham said female aging is not typically embraced in Hollywood, but “this is a show about striving toward your prime and realizing you are at the height of your power.” 

The actors said the project features the five F’s: fighting, freedom, fornicating and female friendship.

Next was The Summer I Turned Pretty. Creator Jenny Han said season three is coming in summer 2025, with 11 episodes. 

Star Lola Tung said: “My character Belly has grown up so much in season two. I can’t wait for everyone to see her journey [in season three].”

Han said, “We’ve all been working really hard to make this an epic season of Summer.”

The discussion shifted to unscripted, and Patton Oswalt spoke about his game show The 1% Club. Oswalt quipped that he ended up on the show after losing the Reacher part to Ritchson and the Road House lead to Gyllenhaal. 

The 1% Club is “not about what you know or how many facts are up in your skull,” he said. “It’s how your brain actually works.”

Jimmy Donaldson, aka Mr. Beast, spoke on video about Beast Games, which will have the most contestants of any game show ever, he said. “It’s  going to be insane.”

Back to scripted, and a season five order for The Boys and a peek at the trailer for season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. 

Keke Palmer talked up her movie The Pickup, with Eddie Murphy, before Jay Marine, VP global head of sports, stepped out. “Nothing drives bigger appointment viewing than sports,” he said. 

The Thursday Night Football opener will be Dolphins-Bills September 12. Prime also has the National Women’s Soccer League and the WNBA, including Caitlin Clark’s pro debut this week. “She is amazing,” Marine said. 

The TNF gang, Charissa Thompson, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tony Gonzalez, was out next. “We can’t wait for the next chapter in what's now become a great rivalry,” said Thompson of the season opener. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about NASCAR coming to Prime, and Prime’s documentary project about his father. Roger Federer spoke about Federer: Twelve Final Days. 

“It’s been an amazing journey and I’m happy to share it,” he said. 

Tanner Elton, VP, U.S. ad sales, and Sarah Iooss, head of U.S. agency & Twitch, Amazon Ads, were out next. “Our reach extends beyond Prime Video,” said Iooss. 

Alan Moss, VP of global ad sales, hoped attendees would take one thing away from the upfront presentation: Full-funnel advertising at scale for everyone. 

But then Reese Witherspoon tossed in a juicier takeaway: A Legally Blonde prequel series on Prime, showing Elle in high school. 

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joining the Prime Video broadcast booth when the streaming network begins NASCAR Cup Series coverage next year. Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 twice and is in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 

He will also be part of TNT Sports’ NASCAR programming.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dale as an official member of the Amazon family, and build our NASCAR coverage around him,” Jared Stacy, director of global live sports production, Prime Video, said. “One of the most beloved figures in racing history, Dale has an unrivaled passion for the sport. We are so excited for him to connect with NASCAR fans next season on Prime Video.”

Earnhardt Jr. is a third-generation professional driver, and amassed 26 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

“I’m honored to be a part of Prime Video’s entrance into NASCAR,” said Earnhardt Jr. “It is an exciting opportunity to have the chance to give our NASCAR fan base yet another way to watch the sport. It will be exciting to see the innovation that Prime Video is going to bring to our sport and the fans.”

Starting in 2025, Prime Video will stream five NASCAR Cup Series races. It will also present exclusive coverage of practice and qualifying for almost the entire first half of the NASCAR Cup Series season. 

Paramount Plus’s Knuckles knocked Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout out of the top spot in TVision’s Power Score ranking of the top show on connected TV the week of April 29.

Fallout had been No. 1 for three weeks and drops to No. 2 behind the Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff.

Rounding out the top five were Hulu’s Under the Bridge, Max’s Hacks (season three) and Netflix’s Baby Reindeer.

Netflix had four shows in the Top 20 to lead all streaming services. Eight different apps had shows on the list.

Amazon Prime Video’s remake of Road House was the top movie on connected TV, according to Power Score.

The other top movies for the month were The Little Things on Max, What Jennifer Did on Netflix, Migration on Peacock and Taylor Swift The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) on Disney Plus.

The Power Score ranking is designed to compare streaming shows on an apples-to-apples basis. In calculating its Power Score, TVision, which measures activity across more than 1,000 apps, looks at the amount of time viewers pay attention to the program, the amount of program time available for the season, the program’s reach, as well as the application’s reach.

TVision said it chose that combination of metrics to enable a neutral look at the quality of programming and its unique, inherent ability to draw in viewers — regardless of the scale of the platform or the program’s release schedule.

Travis Kelce will host Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, a spinoff of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, that will stream on Prime Video. 

Kelce plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been in eight Pro Bowls and his girlfriend is Taylor Swift. 

MGM Alternative produces the show and 20 episodes have been ordered. 

Each game will feature a contestant who will rely on a classroom full of celebrities to help them answer 11 questions on a range of subjects. The final question, suitable for 6th graders, is worth $100,000. 

“For years, fans around the world have tested their smarts with this fun, nostalgic game show, and we look forward to bringing this reimagined format to Prime Video,” Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD originals unscripted and targeted programming, Amazon MGM Studios, said. “Travis has proven to be an incredible talent on and off the field, and we appreciate the trust he has placed in us with his first foray into television. His natural, comedic dynamic with our panelists and guests, coupled with some exciting new twists, will keep our global customers coming back week after week.”

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy on Fox. John Cena later hosted it on Nickelodeon. 

Travis and brother Jason host the podcast New Heights. 

“I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with Are you Smarter than a Celebrity?” Kelce said. “The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favorite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining. I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”

The 59th Academy of Country Music Awards streams on Prime Video Thursday, May 16 from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Luke Combs has the most nominations, which were announced on The Bobby Bones Show, with Megan Moroney and Morgan Wallen just behind. 

Billing itself “Country Music’s Party of the Year,” the telecast will be available May 17 on Amazon Freevee and the Amazon Music app in addition to Prime Video.

Combs has eight nominations, including Entertainer of the Year. Moroney has six, including Female Artist of the Year. Wallen has six as well, including Album of the Year. 

Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, and Lainey Wilson each have five nominations, followed by Jelly Roll and Jordan Davis with four. 

Entertainer of the Year is between Combs, Johnson, Stapleton, Wallen, Wilson, Kane Brown and Jelly Roll. 

The Academy of Country Music Awards used to air on CBS, and shifted to Prime Video in 2022. 

Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks hosted last year. No host has been named for 2024. 

Dick Clark Productions (DCP) produces the event. Raj Kapoor is executive producer and showrunner. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music and Barry Adelman executive produces for DCP. 

Prime Video on March 30 officially rings the bell for Amazon’s first pay-per-view boxing event as it looks to integrate the fight game into its growing live sports distribution portfolio. 

The Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora PPV fight card, which retails at $69.95, is the first of as many as 12 boxing events the streaming service hopes to distribute in 2024 as part of its recently signed multi-year deal with boxing promotion company Premier Boxing Champions, according to Prime Video director, head of partnerships Charlie Neiman. The streaming service has already announced it will distribute the May 4 Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia PPV fight. 

Neiman recently spoke to Multichannel News about the Tszyu-Fundora bout, as well as his expectations for boxing content on Prime Video. Here’s an edited version of that discussion.

MCN: How does the addition of pro boxing enhance Prime Video’s portfolio of live sports content? 

Charlie Neiman: Prime Video is an entertainment destination, and what we do is we bring premium content to customers year-round. Championship boxing is broadly appealing and the big fights are high-stakes events, so we really looked at the space and said that boxing is a great fit as it relates to our portfolio of live sports properties on Prime Video. So offering a year-round slate of really big boxing fights alongside things like exclusive Thursday Night Football games and a NASCAR package that we recently announced that runs in the summer really provides a nice component to what fans can expect from the service. 

MCN: What does Prime Video bring to the sport of boxing and to its boxing partner, Premier Boxing Champions?

CN: What I’m most excited about is the distribution we’re going to bring to the partnership. We have 200 million plus Prime members around the world. That number is even larger when you think about customers who access our service. So the sport of boxing is going to have a partner that is going to bring more awareness, and it’s going to drive a new generation of fans. Premier Boxing Champions obviously carries a really strong stable of fighters. They’ve been great partners and we’re excited to innovate the sport together.

MCN: What are your expectations for Saturday’s event, and how big was the loss of Keith Thurman to Saturday’s main event fight?

CN: I think we’re bringing a high volume of quality fights to our first card, which is great out of the gate. We’re learning about the boxing industry in real time as it relates to injuries, and understand that these things happen. Luckily, PBC has a great stable of fighters, so they were able to plug in a replacement who, frankly, is a really compelling fighter — a lot of folks have been wanting to see [Tszyu and Fundora] fight each other. So we don’t view it as a major change outside of a little bit of tweaking that had to happen on the back end, but we’re still really excited about the card. 

MCN: Do you have any technological concerns revolving around the distribution of your first pay-per-view boxing event? 

CN: We’re confident it's going to be a great experience. Obviously, we are throwing in a lot of resources from our product, technical, and operational teams to make sure that it’s a flawless experience for customers. Luckily, Amazon has a lot of experience not only in the live sports arena when you think about Thursday Night Football and other marquee major properties we've streamed, but also in the transactional space. Our customers are very used to buying and renting movies and TV shows, as well as adding channels to their Prime Video experience. We think pay-per-view is just a natural extension of that experience. 

MCN: How many boxing events do you expect to distribute this year? 

CN: During our multiyear deal, we’re targeting somewhere between 10 to 12 fights a year, the majority of which I think will be pay-per-view, including some really major bouts, the May 4 [Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia] fight being a good example. Alongside that we’ll have PBC fights that will be available without pay-per-view and free to prime members. With those fights, we’ll have an opportunity to showcase up-and-coming fighters and to tell their stories as we potentially watch them develop into future pay-per-view stars.  

AMC’s drama series Parish leads a limited lineup of original shows debuting during the week of Easter.

Parish debuts March 31 and stars veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito as a taxi driver whose dark past is revived after the murder of his son. Also starring in the six-part series are Arica Himmel, Paula Malcomson, and Skeet Ulrich.  

Premiering March 29 is Apple TV Plus' Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces, a documentary film focused on the iconic comedy/actor. Martin Short, Tina Fey and Selena Gomez appear in the two-part profile.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of March 25-31. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

March 27, Dead Hot (comedy), Tubi

March 28, American Rust: Broken Justice (drama), Prime Video

March 28, The Baxters (drama), Prime Video

March 28, We Were The Lucky Ones (drama), Hulu

March 29, Madu (documentary), Disney Plus

March 29, Spermworld (documentary movie), FX

March 29, Renegade Nell (adventure), Disney Plus 

March 31, A Gentleman in Moscow (drama), Showtime

Prime Video’s March 30 inaugural pay-per-view boxing event suffered a body blow Monday when former boxing champion Keith Thurman withdrew from the card’s main event title fight with Tim Tsyzu due to injury.

Tsyzu will now fight Sebastian Fundora for the vacant WBC super weltrweight world title, according to Prime Video and fight promotion company Premier Boxing Champions. Thurman, a former welterweight champion, was forced to withdraw after suffering a bicep injury in training, according to PBC. Fundora had already been preparing to compete in the PPV card's opening fight before being moved up to the main event.

Other fights on the fight card include the co-main event bout between WBA Super Lightweight World Champion Rolando Romero and Isaac Cruz, WBA Middleweight World Champion Erislandy Lara against Michael Zerafa and WBC Flyweight World Champion Julio César Martínez against Angelino Cordova. 

The PPV boxing event is the first for Prime Video under its multi-year rights deal with Premier Boxing Champions, reached this past December. 

Also: Prime Video Punches Up Live Sports Lineup with Premier Boxing Champions Distribution Deal

Prime Video has ordered Beast Games, a series based on a YouTube show from MrBeast. It will see 1,000 contestants compete for a $5 million jackpot. Prime Video calls it the biggest single prize in TV history. 

MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, will host and executive produce. 

“MrBeast has captured the attention and imagination of fans of all ages, from all walks of life, and all over the world,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, said. “We are excited to work with Jimmy and his talented team to bring his brilliant, high production and stakes-raising concepts to Beast Games for our global customers to experience.”

MrBeast has 245 million subscribers on YouTube, tops on the platform. 

“When MrBeast first told us about his concept for the show, we were blown away by his ambition to make Beast Games the biggest reality competition series ever,” Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios, said. “We’d like to thank [Spotter founder and CEO] Aaron DeBevoise, [Spotter president] Nic Paul, and the Spotter team for the introduction and kickstarting this journey for us.”

Prime Video says of MrBeast, “His content entertains and inspires millions through never-before-seen viral spectacles, highly engaging challenges and massive giveaways, including millions of dollars in food and supplies for those in need.”

Donaldson is the founder of snack brand Feastables. 

“My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms,” MrBeast said. “Amazon gave me the creative control I need to try and make it happen. I hope to make the YouTube community proud.” 

Prime Video will look to build awareness of its March 30 Keith Thurman-Tim Tszyu pay-per-view boxing card with the March 15 debut of its Gloves Off boxing documentary series.

The two-episode series will preview the fighters’ lives and feature interviews from various members of each camp, according to the streaming service. In addition to Thurman-Tszyu, the series will also document the Rolando Romero-Isaac Cruz undercard fight.

The Thurman-Tszyu fight is Prime Video’s inaugural PPV boxing event under its multi-year rights deal with Premier Boxing Champions, reached this past December.

It’s also one of two major 2024 PPV boxing events scheduled, along with the May 4 Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia fight.  

Western drama Outer Range is back with season two on Prime Video May 16. Josh Brolin stars and executive produces. He also directs the season’s penultimate episode. 

All seven episodes drop on premiere day. 

Outer Range is about Royal Abbott (Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers a phenomenon at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness — a dark void. The mystery surrounding the void on the west pasture of the ranch deepens in the new season, as Royal and his wife Cecelia (Lili Taylor) struggle to keep their family together after their granddaughter disappears. 

“Outer Range’s second season propels its characters deeper into the void with profound and unforeseen circumstances that could shake the very foundations of time itself,” Prime Video teases. 

Charles Murray is showrunner and executive producer. 

Also in the cast are Imogen Poots, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman and Tom Pelphrey.

Besides Brolin and Murray, the executive producers are Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Ernest McNealey, Tony Krantz, Heather Rae and Jon Paré.

Brolin’s films include Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and No Country For Old Men. 

The show premiered in April 2022. The Hollywood Reporter said of it, “More superficially weird than deeply mysterious, Amazon‘s Outer Range isn’t consistently satisfying as a drama series, though as an extended metaphor for television viewing circa 2022, this story of a Wyoming family throwing things in a mysterious hole on their ranch is at least unintentionally savvy. It’s not a totally black void of entertainment, nor, however, is this eight-episode leap of faith immediately fulfilled.”

Season two of drama American Rust premieres on Prime Video March 28. There will be 10 episodes. Prime Video shared a trailer for the new season of the show, which has Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney in the cast. 

Season one ran on Showtime, debuting in September 2021 and canceled months later. It saw Police Chief Del Harris (played by Daniels) dealing with a murder in his tight-knit Rust Belt town in Pennsylvania. A quandary emerges for Harris, as the suspect is the son of Grace Poe (Tierney), the woman he loves. 

A review in The Guardian said, “With a depressed cop, a troubled war veteran and general blue-collar gloom and doom, we’ve seen this cliche-heavy drama a thousand times.”

American Rust is based on Philipp Meyer’s novel, which came out in 2009. 

American Rust: Broken Justice, as the new season is called, is executive produced by Dan Futterman, Adam Rapp, Jeff Daniels, Paul Martino, Michael De Luca, Ivan Schneeberg, David Fortier, Nick Nantell, Katie O’Connell Marsh and Elisa Ellis.

Friends in Low Places, a docuseries about Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood building a honky-tonk in Nashville, debuts on Prime Video Thursday, March 7. The bar, sharing its name with the series, also opens March 7. 

Brooks and Yearwood are married. Brooks released the song “Friends in Low Places” in 1990. 

Prime said the country couple will “embark on their most personal journey yet to build the honky-tonk of their dreams in the heart of Nashville. Paying tribute to his roots, Garth enlists the help of his friends, day-one tour team, and an all-star hospitality group to open the epic, four-story bar on Lower Broadway. This is a labor of love and his thank you to the community of Music City.”

Brooks said: “This was so much more than I bargained for! With that said, what we have built is far more than just a business. This is, by far, the craziest ride I have ever been on.”

Brooks and Yearwood get some help from friends in opening the bar, including restaurateurs Benjamin and Max Goldberg and hospitality figures Jenny Deathridge Bratt and Camille Tambunting. 

“We started down this road fueled by passion, dedication and a shared vision,” said Yearwood. “I’m really proud of the team that has built the Friends Bar and Honky-Tonk. We are excited to share the culmination of everyone’s efforts. It’s even bigger than we dreamed!”

Friends in Low Places is produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Casey Patterson Entertainment. Garth Brooks, Casey Patterson and Carol Donovan are executive producers.

The bar’s website says it is hiring bartenders, servers, barbacks, hosts and dishwashers. 

Prime Video has greenlit a new college-themed comedy series from actor/writer Benito Skinner titled Overcompensating.

The ensemble series, produced by Amazon MGM Studios and A24, stars Skinner as a closeted former football player and homecoming king who becomes fast friends with Carmen, a high school outsider on a mission to fit in at all costs, according to the streaming service. The show show explores the lengths to which we all overcompensate while on the path to finding out who we really are, according to Prime Video.

“The moment we heard this story from Benny, we knew it was an irresistible, bold story that would captivate and inspire our global Prime Video customers," said Amazon MGM Studios head of U.S. SVOD wholly owned development Nick Pepper in a statement.

Skinner will also serve a s executive producer of the series along with Jonah Hill, Matt Dines and Ali Goodwin. 

Prime Video and Premier Boxing Champions will distribute their inaugural joint pay-per-view boxing match on March 30, headlined by the Keith Thurman-Tim Tszyu super welterweight fight. 

The fight card, the first as part of a multiyear deal between Premier Boxing and Prime Video, will also feature bouts between junior welterweight champion Rolando Romero and Isaac Cruz, middleweight champion Erislandy Lara against Michael Zerafa and super welterweights Sebastian Fundora and Serhii Bohachuk, according to Prime Video.

The PPV fight card, promoted by TGB Promotions, will be available to purchase from Prime Video as well as traditional cable and satellite outlets. Prime Video and Premier Boxing did not disclose a suggested retail price for the PPV event. 

PBC's PPV fights were previously distributed by Showtime, which this past October announced it was dissolving its sports division at the end of 2023.  

“This first show on PBC on Prime Video is ham-packed with fan-friendly matchups featuring stars who are established as the best of their generation and new stars who are looking to make a claim to lead the next generation of champions,” TGB Promotions Tom Brown said in a statement. 

Amazon will lay off several hundred employees in its streaming and studio divisions as well as subsidiary Twitch in order to reduce costs amid the latest in a wave of video industry contraction.

Twitch, the video live-streaming company acquired by Amazon in 2014 will cut just over 500 roles, or 35% of its workforce, according to a blog post by Twitch CEO Dan Clancy. Prime Video and MGM Studios will eliminate “hundreds” of jobs, according to an email sent by management to employees on Wednesday morning.

“Despite these efforts, it has become clear that our organization is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business,” Clancy said. “[The] decision, while incredibly difficult and painful, is necessary to ensure that we can continue to serve our streamers sustainably without impacting their ability to support their careers on Twitch.”

Added Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studio, in his separate company email address: “We’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact ... Our prioritization of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future.”

Amazon said that the layoffs will be completed by the end of the week.

The cuts come just weeks before Amazon is set to roll out a new ads initiative for subscription-based Amazon Prime Video service, requiring users to pay an extra $3 per month to avoid them. 

These ads could boost annual revenue by as much as $5 billion, according to a Bank of America Analysis. Ads on Amazon’s streaming service will start appearing in North America on Jan. 29 and internationally on Feb. 5.

Amazon has spent recent years aggressively pursuing the growth of its media division, including the $8.45 billion acquisition for MGM in 2021 and over $1 billion in payouts to individual content creators by subsidiary Twitch last year. Later, it was revealed that Amazon had grossly overvalued MGM's content library, which was re-assessing it at $3.4 billion, according to a March 2022 10Q filing.

Amazon has ramped up its streaming offerings as part of its Prime package in recent years, which charges for expedited shipping and other perks.

But last year, Twitch also laid off 400 people as part of overall Amazon cuts. And in December, announced it would shut down its service in South Korea because of “prohibitively expensive” costs.

Amazon last year cut more than 27,000 jobs, part of a record-breaking wave of U.S. tech layoffs that followed industry over-expansion during the pandemic.

In total, the media industry shed over 21,000 jobs last year, the highest total for the sector since 2020, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Amazon’s shares were up 1.6% in afternoon trading. Twitch has also seen recent viewership increases. 

“While the Twitch business remains strong, for some time now the organization has been sized based upon where we optimistically expect our business to be in three or more years, not where we’re at today,” explained Clancy in his statement. “As with many other companies in the tech space, we are now sizing our organization based upon the current scale of our business and conservative predictions of how we expect to grow in the future.”

Premier Boxing Champions will step into the streaming ring with Prime Video for distribution of its boxing events as part of a multiyear rights deal. 

Prime Video will distribute PBC’s live boxing cards, including its marquee boxing pay-per-view events, beginning as early as Match 2024 with an as-yet-announced event, according to representatives from both companies. PBC's fights were previously distributed by Showtime, which this past October announced it was dissolving its sports division at the end of the year. 

This past year PBC and Showtime distributed six major PPV boxing events, including the year’s biggest event, the April 22 Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia bout which drew more than 1 million PPV buys.

In addition to live boxing events, Prime Video will produce behind-the-scenes PBC docuseries, live weigh-ins, as well as on-demand access to previous events, highlights and archival footage.

The PBC deal adds to Prime Video’s lineup of live sports programming, which includes its NFL Thursday Night Football package and live WNBA, NWSL, and Overtime Elite basketball games. The service also features ONE Championship mixed martial arts events. 

“We are thrilled to join with Premier Boxing Champions to bring the best boxers in the world to Prime Video, and to give more fans than ever the chance to experience these must-see events,” Amazon U.S. sports content & partnerships VP Marie Donoghue said in a statement. “With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

Prime Video is giving its viewers a close-up look at the next generation of basketball stars with its media deal with the Overtime Elite basketball league, which includes streaming of live games and a documentary series.

The multiyear agreement reached earlier this year calls for Prime Video to stream 20 live games per season from the eight-team league, which features some of the top high school and young adult players. In addition, Prime Video this past September debuted a six-part documentary series, One Shot: Overtime Elite, which showcased the next generation of basketball stars — including 2023 NBA draft-lottery picks Amen and Ausar Thompson — as they navigate through various challenges and training in pursuit of a professional basketball career. 

“OTE has established a strong reputation as a next-generation league responsible for producing basketball stars of tomorrow,” Prime Video head of original content, sports Matt Newman said. 

CEO Dan Porter said having both the documentary and live games on Prime Video has provided Overtime Elite with a great source of exposure and promotion. 

“Amazon has really been an exciting partner for us where we felt like we could get attention,” Porter said. “The idea of putting [the live games and docuseries] together and cross-promoting is super interesting, and we hope that the series becomes a franchise in the way that [HBO’s] Hard Knocks has become a franchise.” 

Click below to listen to an interview with Porter and Overtime Elite general manager and head of basketball Damien Wilkins on the latest episode of the “TV Sportsplay” podcast. 

Paramount Plus’s reboot of the popular 1990s sitcom Frasier leads a busy list of shows set to debut this week.

Frasier premieres on the streaming service October 12 with Kelsey Grammer reprising the role of psychiatrist Frasier Crane. The series also stars Jack Cutmore-Scott and Nicholas Lyndhurst, with guest appearances from original series stars Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin. The first two episodes of the series will also air on CBS on October 17.

Debuting on October 13 is the premiere of Disney Plus’s Goosebumps, the latest TV adaptation of the R. L. Stine book franchise. The 10-episode, kids-targeted, horror-themed series will also debut its first two episodes on Freeform on the same night.

Also premiering on Friday the 13th is the fourth season of streaming service Shudder's horror-based anthology series Creepshow. The first episode of the series will also debut on AMC Plus and AMC. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of October 9-15. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

October 11: Messi Meets America (sports documentary), Apple TV Plus

October 12: Doom Patrol (returning series), Max

October 12: The Fall of the House of Usher (horror), Netflix

October 13: The Burial (drama), Prime Video

October 13: John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams (horror series), Peacock

October 13: Lessons in Chemistry (drama), Apple TV Plus

October 13: Shining Vale (returning series), Starz

October 15: Billy the Kid (returning series), MGM Plus 

If strangers in bars start offering you a piece of cake, it may be related to Sitting in Bars with Cake, premiering on Prime Video September 8. A movie about friendship and baking, the cast includes Yara Shahidi, Odessa A’zion, Bette Midler and Martha Kelly. 

Trish Sie directed the film and Audrey Shulman, who wrote the book that inspired the film, wrote the screenplay. The book is full of essays, and recipes, from the year Shulman baked cakes in Los Angeles, brought them to bars, and met a few people. 

Sitting in Bars with Cake follows 20-something best buds Jane (Shahidi) and Corinne (A’zion) as they navigage life in Los Angeles. Extroverted Corinne convinces shy Jane, who bakes at home, to commit to a year of baking cakes and bringing them to bars, with the goal of meeting people and building up her confidence. They call it “cakebarring.”

During that year, Corinne receives a life-altering diagnosis that strains the ladies’ friendship. 

“Sitting in Bars with Cake isn't only a madcap joyride through some of L.A.’s most colorful watering holes, it's a moving celebration of female friendship, forging identity, and finding joy in the most unexpected places,” said Prime Video. 

Shahidi, Janet Knutsen and Teri Simpson produced the movie, which is rated PG-13 and goes for two hours.
Prime noted that the movie is “inspired by true events.”

The Chicago Tribune called the movie “a warm portrait of an L.A. friendship.”

Variety called it “a lumpy friendship tale with a bittersweet bite.”

Shahidi played Zoey on Black-ish and Grown-ish.

The debut of AMC’s latest series from The Walking Dead Universe and the return of Paramount Plus’ animated series from the Star Trek Universe leads the list of original show debuts during the first week of September. 

AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres September 10, with Norman Reedus reprising his role from the original The Walking Dead series as he battles zombies in France, according to the network. Also starring in the series are Adam Nagaitis, Clemence Posey, and Anne Charrier. 

Paramount Plus’s Star Trek: Lower Decks returns for its fourth season on September  7 as it continues to follow the travails of a 24th century starship support crew. Returning to lend their voices to the series are Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Dawnn Lewis and Eugene Cordero. 

 Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of September 5-10. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

 September 5, One Shot: Overtime Elite (returning series), Prime Video

 September 6, I Am Groot (returning series), Disney Plus  

 September 7, Top Boy (drama), Netflix  

 September 7, Virgin River (returning series), Netflix  

 September 8, The Changeling (drama), Apple TV Plus 

 September 8, Sitting in Bars with Cake (movie), Prime Video  

September 10, Dreaming Whilst Black (dramedy), Showtime

Prime Video will not go ahead with a second season of its women’s baseball-themed drama series A League of Their Own due to delays caused by the ongoing writer's and actor’s strike, according to reports.

The series, an adaptation of the 1990’s movie of the same name about a professional women’s baseball league, was initially renewed for a four-episode second season this past April. Series co-creator and executive producer Abbi Jacobson recently took to social media to decry the show’s cancellation. 

“To blame this cancellation on the strike … is bulls**t and cowardly,” Jacobson said in her Instagram post, before adding “this post here is about the special show I was lucky to make with so many incredibly talented artist and actors and writers and crew.”

The series from Sony Pictures Television stars Jacobson, Chante Adams, D’Arcy Carden, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Roberta Colindrez, and Nick Offerman.

Along with Jacobson, Will Graham, Hailey Wierengo, Desta Tedros Reff and Jamie Babbit also served as executive producers for A League of Their Own.

Prime Video tonight (August 15) will stream the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty as the streaming service continues to offer live game content from the league.

The WNBA's in-season tournament championship contest, which Prime Video has streamed since the game's debut in 2021, matches the two WNBA teams with the best record based on percentage of games designated for Cup play in each conference, according to the league. The Aces will look to win its second straight championship after defeating the Chicago Sky last year.

Players on the winning team will have the opportunity to earn more than $30,000 each while players on the runner-up team will have the opportunity to earn as much as $10,000 each, according to the league. All participating players will receive $5,000 in cryptocurrency from the game’s sponsor, Coinbase.

Prime Video will once again pair Michael Grady and Sarah Kustok to handle play-by-play and analyst duties for the game, with former NBA All-Star Baron Davis contributing as an analyst and Zora Stephenson handling sideline responsibilities for the Championship contest.

After the Commissioner’s Cup, Prime Video will stream five additional regular-season WNBA games through mid-September, beginning with an August 17 Liberty-Aces rematch, according to the streaming service.

The NBA for the first time will offer its own version of the Commissioner’s Cup with an in-season tournament beginning in November.

The return of Hulu’s animated series Solar Opposites and Peacock’s comedy series Killing It highlight this week’s list of original show premieres.

Season four of Hulu’s animated science-fiction series debuts August 14 and continues to follow the exploits of a family of aliens shipwrecked on Earth. Dan Stevens joins the cast for season four of Solar Opposites, which also includes Thomas Middleditch, Sean Giamborne, and Mary Mack. 

Peacock’s Killing It premieres its second season on August 17, with Craig Robinson returning to star as a rags-to-riches snake hunter along with Claudia O’Doherty and Rell Battle.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of August 14-20. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

August 14, 90 Day: Last Resort (reality series), TLC

August 16, Depp v. Heard (documentary series), Netflix

August 16, Miguel Wants to Fight (comedy movie), Hulu

August 18, Time of Essence (documentary series), OWN

August 18, Harlan Coben’s Shelter (drama), Prime video

August 18, The Monkey King (Animated movie), Netflix

August 18, The Winter King (drama), MGM Plus

Two cable-network drama series — AMC’s Dark Winds and Starz’s Heels — will launch their sophomore campaigns amid a crowded lineup of shows and movies debuting during the last week of July. 

AMC on July 30 will premiere the second season of Dark Winds, starring Zahn McClarnon as a Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant investigating a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. Also starring in the series are Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, Jeri Ryan and Nicolas Logan.

Starz will return to the wrestling ring on July 28 with the second season of drama series Heels. Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig return as brothers participating in a local pro wrestling league both inside and outside the ring. Heels also stars Alison Luff, Mary McCormack, Kelli Berglund and Allen Maldonado.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 24-30. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

July 24: Futurama (returning series) — Hulu

July 24: The Golden Boy (sports documentary) — HBO

July 26: The Hardy Boys (returning series) — Hulu

July 27: Harley Quinn (returning series) — Max

July 27: Twisted Metal (comedy) — Peacock

July 27: The Witcher (returning series) — Netflix

July 27: Zoey 102 (comedy movie) — Paramount Plus

July 28: Good Omens (returning series) — Prime Video

July 28: This Fool (returning series) — Hulu

The return of FX’s drama series Justified highlights the list of original series debuting this week

Justified: City Primeval debuts July 18 and returns Timothy Olyphant to the role of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. The series, an extension of the Justified drama series that ran on FX from 2010-2015, follows Givens as he travels to Detroit to pursue an elusive killer, according to the network. 

Debuting July 23 is Paramount Plus’ Special Ops: Lioness, a new drama from prolific series creator Taylor Sheridan. The military-themed series stars Zoe Saldana, Laysla De Oliveira, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 17-23. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

July 19, The Deepest Breath (documentary), Netflix

July 19, Kalvin Phillips: The Road to City (sports documentary), Prime Video

July 20, Superpowered: The DC Story (documentary series), Max

July 20, Tacoma FD (returning series), truTV

July 21, Minx (returning series), Starz

July 21, Praise Petey (animation), Freeform

July 21, The Cloned Tyrone (movie), Netflix

Prime Video has dropped the original trailer for its upcoming drama series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart starring Sigourney Weaver. 

The seven-part series, based on Holly Ringland's best-selling novel, debuts August 4 and stars Weaver as June Hart, who takes in her granddaughter Alice after her parents perish in a mysterious fire. According to Prime, Alice over several decades learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family's past. 

Along with Weaver, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart stars Alycia Debnam-Carey, Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell and Frankie Adams.

The series is executive produced by Weaver, Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Sarah Lambert and Glendyn Ivin. 

Freeform’s final season of Grown-ish and the third season of Netflix’s The Witcher highlight the light list of show debuts heading into the July 4 holiday week.

Grown-ish -- a spinoff of ABC's Black-ish, will debut its sixth and final season on Freeform June 28. Grown-ish stars Yara Shahidi and Marcus Scribner will return for the show’s final season along with Trevor Jackson, Diggy Simmons and Daniella Perkins.

Netflix will return its fantasy drama series The Witcher for its third season on June 29. The show will star Henry Cavill in his last season as the show’s lead character Geralt of Rivia (Liam Hemsworth will take over the role in season four). The eight-episode, third season of The Witcher will be split in two parts, with the second half premiering in late July, according to the streamer.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of June 26 to July 4. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised:

June 28: Anthem (music documentary), Hulu

June 28: Hijack (drama), Apple TV Plus

June 29: Lace (returning series), ALLBLK

June 29: Warrior (returning series), Max

June 29: Ten-Year-Old Tom (returning series), Max

June 30: Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (drama), Prime Video

June 30: Nimona (animation movie), Netflix

June 30: Celebrity (drama), Netflix

Paramount Plus’s reboot of the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction movie tops the list of shows premiering this week across cable and streaming services.

Fatal Attraction premieres April 30 and is a retelling of the  thriller movie starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. The eight-episode Paramount Plus series stars Alyssa Jirrels, Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson. 

Also debuting April 30 is A&E’s reality series Stone Cold Takes on America featuring WWE legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin taking on jobs and activities performed by everyday people, according to the network.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of April 24-30 on cable networks and streaming services. (For some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

April 25: Family Legacy (reality series), Paramount Plus  

April 26: Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (returning series), Comedy Central

April 26: Saint X (drama), Hulu

April 27: Firefly Lane (returning series), Netflix

April 27: Love & Death (drama), HBO Max

April 28: Citadel (drama), Prime Video

April 28: Clock (movie), Hulu

April 28: Couples Therapy (returning series), Showtime

Two science fiction-themed original series highlight the list of show premieres launching this week on cable networks and streamers. 

MGM Plus’s sophomore series From debuts April 23 and continues to follow the lives of residents trapped in a small town who are forced to survive monstrous threats from the surrounding forest, according to network officials. The series stars Harold Perrineau, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Eion Bailey, and Elizabeth Saunders.

Peacock on April 20 debuts Mrs. Davis, a drama series starring Betty Gilpin as a nun who relies on her faith to battle an artificial intelligence threat, according to the streamer. The eight-episode series also stars Jack McDorman and Margo Martindale.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of April 17-23 on cable networks and streaming services. (For some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

April 20 – The Diplomat (drama) – Netflix

April 20 – Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (returning series) – Paramount Plus

April 20 – Quasi (comedy) – Hulu

April 21 – Dead Ringers (drama) – Prime Video

April 21 – Drops of God (drama) – Apple TV Plus

April 21 – Dear Mama (documentary) – FX

April 21 – Ghosted (movie) – Apple TV Plus

April 21 – Judy Blume Forever (documentary) – Prime Video

April 23 – Somebody Somewhere (returning series) – HBO

Prime Video will chronicle the career and legacy of Major League Baseball Hall Of Famer Reggie Jackson in a new documentary debuting March 24.

The documentary, Reggie, will provide a follow the career of the five-time World Series Champion and one of the league’s most influential superstars, said Prime Video. As part of the documentary, Jackson contemplates his legacy as a trailblazing Black athlete fighting for respect throughout his barrier-breaking career, including his start with the Oakland A’s through his legendary run as a member of the New York Yankees.

Jackson also sits down with other sports legends including NBA great Julius Erving and MLB Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Derek Jeter to discuss their own career and life experiences in their respective sports, said the streaming service.

Reggie is executive produced by Brenda Gilbert, Aaron Gilbert, Josh Miller, Kim Carsten, Zoe Morrison, Jason Cloth and Suraj Maraboyina.■

The return of Disney Plus’ Emmy-nominated series The Mandalorian leads the list of show premieres ushering in the month of March.

The eight-episode, third season of the Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian debuts March 1 and will continue to follow the adventures of Din Djarin and Grogu (Baby Yoda) years after the Return of the Jedi film. According to the streaming service, the Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of February 27 to March 5 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

February 28 – Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever (documentary) – Disney Plus

March 1 – Wreck (comedy/horror) – Hulu

March 2 – Sex/Life (returning series) – Netflix

March 3 – Daisy Jones and the Six (drama) – Prime video

March 3 – Finding Michael (documentary) – Disney Plus

March 3 – Next in Fashion (returning series) – Netflix

March 4 – Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (live comedy concert) – Netflix

March 5 – SWV & Xscape: The Queens of R&B (music) – Bravo

Apple TV Plus' new drama series from Jason Katims and an apocalyptic space-themed series from Syfy lead the list of original series premiering during the first week of February.

Apple's Dear Edward drama series debuts February 3 and focuses on a 12-year-old boy who survives a plane crash that kills everyone else on board. The 10-episode series, created by Katims (Friday Night Lights), stars Connie Britton, Taylor Schilling and Colin O'Brien. 

Syfy's The Ark, debuting February 1, chronicles the travails of planetary colonization attempt in an effort to save the future of the human race 100 years into the future. The Dean Devlin-created series stars Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman and Reece Ritchie.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of January 30 to February 5 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

January 30 – The Watchful Eye (drama) – Freeform

February 1 – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (returning series) – Disney Plus

February 2 – Freeridge (comedy) – Netflix

February 3 – Harlem (returning series) – Prime Video

February 3 — Stand (sports documentary) – Showtime

February 5 – 30 for 30: Bullies of Baltimore (sports documentary) – ESPN

A number of high-profile series return to the small screen this week, as well as an animated spinoff based on a character from the popular “Scooby-Doo” cartoon franchise.

Showtime on January 15 will bring back its drama series Your Honor for a second season. Bryan Cranston returns as beleaguered Judge Michael Desiato, with Rosie Perez and Margo Martindale guest-starring in the show’s sophomore campaign.

Also returning on January 15 is the third season of MGM Plus’ The Godfather of Harlem, which stars Forest Whitaker as famed 1960’s Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson.

Among the week’s series debuts is the HBO Maxanimated show Velma, which focuses on the high school life of iconic Scooby-Doo character Velma Dinkley, voiced by Mindy Kaling. HBO Max will debut two episodes weekly beginning  January 12.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of January 9 to January 16 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

January 12: The Traitors (competition series), Peacock

January 12: Vikings: Valhalla (returning series), Netflix

January 13: The Drop (comedy movie) – Hulu

January 13: Hunters (returning series), Amazon Prime Video

January 13: Servant (returning series), Apple TV Plus

January 15: The Last of Us (drama), HBO

January 15: Mayor of Kingstown (returning series), Paramount Plus

Prime Video will premiere the Christoph Waltz series The Consultant February 24. Based on the Bentley Little novel, the series will have eight episodes. Prime Video calls it “a twisted, comedic-thriller series that explores the sinister relationship between boss and employee.”

Nat Wolff, Brittany O’Grady and Aimee Carrero are also in the cast.

When a new consultant, played by Waltz, is hired to improve business at the gaming company CompWare, employees experience new demands and challenges that put everything into question, including their lives.

Prime Video has shared a trailer.

Tony Basgallop is the creator and showrunner. He executive produces with Matt Shakman, Waltz, Steve Stark and Andrew Mittman.

The Consultant is from MGM Television and Amazon Studios.

From Austria, Waltz’s film work includes The Inglourious Basterds, The Green Hornet and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. ■

AMC looks to cast a spell on viewers with the premiere of its supernatural-themed original series Mayfair Witches, one of several shows debuting during the first week of 2023.

Mayfair Witches, the second Anne Rice adapted series for AMC following Interview with the Vampire, debuts January 8 and stars Alexandra Daddario as a young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches, according to the network. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of January 3 to January 8 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

January 3 – Sometimes When We Touch (music documentary) – Paramount Plus

January 4 – Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (documentary) – Netflix

January 5 – Ginny & Georgia (returning series) – Netflix

January 6 – BMF (returning series) – Starz

January 6 – Boys in Blue (documentary series) – Showtime

January 6 – The Pale Blue Eye (thriller) – Netflix

January 6 – The Rig (drama) – Prime Video

January 6 – RuPaul’s Drag Race (reality) – MTV

January 6 – Ready To Love (returning series) – OWN

A light Christmas-week schedule of TV show premieres will feature the returns of high-profile streaming series Jack Ryan and Emily In Paris.

Prime Video’s Jack Ryan will debut its third season on December 21 after a three-year hiatus. The series, based on the famed spy character from the Tom Clancy-created political-themed books and films, stars John Krasinski in the title role.

Also launching its third season on December 21 is Netflix’s Emily in Paris, starring Lily Collins as a young woman trying to find her way in Paris.

Netflix on December 23 will premiere the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, a sequel of the 2019 Knives Out mystery movie. Daniel Craig reprises his role as detective Benoit Blanc, with Edward Norton, Kate Hudson and Janelle Monae joining the cast.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of December 19 to December 25 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

December 22 – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (dramedy) – Peacock

December 22 – I Hate Suzie (comedy) – HBO Max

December 22 – Snap (sci-fi) – ALLBLK

December 25 – Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (musical movie) – Netflix

December 25 – The Witcher: Blood Origin (drama) – Netflix

Paramount Plus's expansion of the Yellowstone universe with the launch of 1923 and a spinoff of the National Treasure movie franchise lead the list of shows debuting this week.

The series 1923 -- which debuts December 18  - is the second prequel to the Kevin Costner starrer Yellowstone, following the streamer's 1883 series which debuted on the streamer in 2021. Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Darren Mann and James Badge Dale star as members from an earlier generation of Yellowstone's Dutton family.  

On December 14, Disney Plus will debut National Treasure: Edge of History, an action-drama series based on  the National Treasure movie franchise starring Nicolas Cage. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced series stars Lisette Alexis in the lead role as she searches for a lost treasure while seeking to unbury the truth about her family’s past, according to the streaming service. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of December 12 to December 18 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

December 12 – Baking It (returning series) – Peacock

December 13 – Kindred (drama) – Hulu

December 13 – Last Chance U: Basketball (sports reality) – Netflix

November 15 – The Game (returning series) – Paramount Plus

November 16 – If These Walls Could Sing (documentary) – Disney Plus

November 16 – Litvinenko (drama) – AMC Plus

November 16 – Nanny (horror movie) – Prime Video

November 16 – The Recruit (drama) – Netflix