World Screen

LONDON: The amount of time spent watching linear commercial TV in the U.K. hit record levels for the first half of the year, according to Thinkbox, driven by factors such as social media creating a "drive to live" for viewing. …

In a twist on the traditional game-show format, Total Blackout challenges contestants to complete a range of tasks all while in complete darkness. Games that may appear simple in daylight become quite difficult (and entertaining!) when the lights go out …

NEW YORK: Cinemax subscribers can now download the MAX GO app free of charge, offering unlimited access to 700 hours of programming, coinciding with the premiere of Strike Back, the network’s first prime-time original. Strike Back premieres tonight on Cinemax. …

SÃO PAULO: TV Globo Internacional has signed a deal to join the Claro TV platform in Paraguay. The distribution agreement, which went into effect August 1, gives subscribers in Paraguay access to Globo’s news broadcasts, live sports, novelas, mini-series and …

NEW YORK: USA Network has greenlit season two of the new original lawyer series Suits, which premiered this summer, with season one’s finale to air September 8. The series is shot in Toronto and stars Gabriel Macht (Love and Other …

LOS ANGELES: The international hit kids’ series The Wannabes has been added to the Starz Kids & Family lineup in the U.S., to debut on September 5. The series has already been broadcast in 92 territories across the world, with …

VANCOUVER: The Canadian docu-sitcom Family Restaurant: The Quons has been picked up by the WE tv channel, and is to debut in English in the U.S. on August 16. The series features the Quons, a Chinese family on a mission …

MIAMI: Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic has acquired the rights for Televix Entertainment’s documentary Operation Victoria: The Fall of Shining Path. The documentary shines a light on Abimael Guzman, who in the 1980s led Shining Path to become one of …

LONDON: Channel 4 has commissioned a new series from Finestripe Productions that follows entrepreneur David Fishwick as he tries to create a bank from scratch and turn a profit within six months. The show, tentatively titled Bank of Dave, will …

LOS ANGELES: truTV has ordered a new project from Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg’s Katalyst, a reality series set within the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Tentatively titled California DMV: Field Offices, the show will go behind-the-scenes of several …