Elizabeth Guider Reports: CBSSI Showcases Broad Slate

Whether it was the “touching yet still funny” antics of the sitcom The Unicorn, or “the big questions and mysteries raised” by the heady drama Evil, or the “couldn’t take my eyes off Russell Crowe” response to The Loudest Voice, there appeared to be something for just about everyone at the all-day CBS Studios International screenings session on the Paramount lot Wednesday.

It was a Swiss buyer from TeleClub who praised the tone and subject matter of The Unicorn, which stars Walton Goggins as a recently widowed father whose friends want to help him get on with life.

It was a Turkish buyer from Digiturk who opined that Evil, the latest from Robert and Michelle King of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, would appeal to a sufficiently broad audience.

And it was two other Europeans who chatted about Crowe’s impersonation of Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes and the pacing of the series’ first episode. “It grabs you, whatever you thought or knew about Ailes,” one of them said to the other upon leaving the Sherry Lansing Theatre.

As for being on the Paramount lot, that studio too—which has been ramping up its own TV production slate of late—unveiled a couple of new TV pilots, including The Great, which three different female buyers (encountered in the “ladies” afterward by World Screen) chimed in about practically in unison: “loved it, loved it, loved it.”

The “it” they were referring to is both a snarky take on Russian royalty and an empowerment story about the Empress Catherine the Great. The series was penned by Tony McNamara, who did a similarly irreverent take on British royalty in the movie The Favourite, and stars Elle Fanning in the title role.

All this to say that, despite the angst and uncertainty hanging over the international distribution business at present, the actual viewing of programming this week has served as a respite from the challenges facing dealmakers on both sides of the negotiating table.

And, judging from the reactions of more than two-dozen buyers interviewed during the day, there was pretty much something for everyone within the expanding portfolio of the company, from flagship CBS, which is still the number one U.S. network in total viewers, to the young-skewing The CW, to the quirky and off-beat CBS All Access, to the critically acclaimed content on Showtime.

During the morning session, CBS also screened the latest Dick Wolf effort, a spinoff of its freshman hit FBI, called FBI: Most Wanted, and another cop show called Tommy, which toplines Edie Falco as a tough yet vulnerable Los Angeles police chief. (There were buyers around to give them thumbs-up as well, though a couple added they would need to see how the episodes develop—not an uncommon reaction from potential customers.)

No buyer has as yet during the week-long Screenings indicated a particular must-have stand-out show—several opining that it’s overall only a “so-so” year for American series—and yet then going on to rattle off a half-dozen series that they definitely liked.

Of course, the more buyers one talks to, the more likely there will be some who are less convinced that a particular show will work. Regarding CBS’s morning lineup, here were the main caveats, though none of those who expressed them wished to be quoted by name:

About The Unicorn: “My concern is whether it will end up being about a succession of dates gone wrong, and thus tiresome.”
About Tommy: “I wonder if the show is straining to score points on too many social/political fronts.”
About Carol’s Second Act: “Enough already with the jokes about the lead character’s age.”
About FBI: Most Wanted: “OK, it’s well done—it’s Dick Wolf—but I’m not sure it takes us much beyond the original FBI, except the criminals are creepier.”
About Evil: “Strikes me one minute as too contrived and then another as downright ludicrous. A night terror named George, who pees on the floor—really?”

For his part, Armando Nuñez, the president and CEO of CBS Global Distribution Group, put the accent on the “teamwork” required to create the company’s latest array of programs (and in the process distanced the company further from the tenure and personality of former CBS chairman Leslie Moonves, who was ousted last year for alleged sexual misconduct).

The opening sizzle reel, which was voiced by Ray Donovan star Liev Schrieber, further reinforced the idea of the disparate talents that go into putting together the 90-odd CBS-produced shows currently on air.

Further, Nuñez made a point in his remarks to the 300-odd buyers in attendance that despite all the discussion about “the wild year of changes in the industry,” the new windows being talked about and the holdback of rights that might result, CBS was open for business.

“We’re here to sell our incredible portfolio around the world,” he reassured the assembled.

Later during the lunch break, Nuñez told World Screen that a lot of the uncertainty in the business has to do with studios not communicating well what their plans are and/or that the top echelons have not sorted out the responsibilities of the executives under them.

“Windowing is nothing new,” Nuñez went on to say, and second windows, after Netflix (or whatever other streamer), can be quite valuable to both the seller and the buyer.  He also emphasized “the consistency and diversity” of the CBS slate, which, he said, ranges from the broadest, most inclusive of shows—especially its much sought-after legal procedurals—to award-winning minis like Showtime’s The Affair, to the pop-culture sizzle of BH90210 (the reboot is earmarked for FOX).

About overseas plans for CBS All Access, Nuñez wouldn’t be drawn except to say expansion is naturally being considered but then returning to point out the substantial new programming commitments being made for the platform—think Star Trek: Picard (and beyond) and the Stephen King-inspired The Stand, among others. (Star Trek: Picard has already landed with Bell Media in Canada and Amazon Prime everywhere else.)

Regarding pricing for U.S. series, Nuñez, like most of his counterparts at other major studios, would not talk specifics but did confirm that many overseas buyers have been gravitating for some time away from huge volume deals to the adoption of a more selective approach, if not quite cherry-picking.

Also during the lunch break, CBS fielded several of the stars from its new series, including Patricia Heaton, who toplines the comedy Carol’s Second Act as a 50-ish divorcee and mother who, instead of slowing down, has sped up and become a doctor; Mike Colter, who co-stars in Evil as a priest-in-training investigating demonic possessions; and Goggins, who plays the lead in The Unicorn.

Goggins, who glad-handed with practically every lunch table of buyers, told World Screen that he was “relishing” the opportunity to play such a different character, and that he believed the series touches on a number of important contemporary issues like connection and community. “So yes, I think it will appeal beyond just here [in the States]. Everybody can relate to what’s happening with the character I play.”

Finally, to wind up the day, Paramount hosted a cocktail party and a screening of its latest feature film, the Elton John biopic fresh from its Cannes Film Festival debut.

Dan Cohen, the president of Paramount worldwide TV licensing and home entertainment, was on hand to talk up his company’s expanding slate, both on the feature film and on the TV side.

About the latter, Cohen told World Screen that, from zero five years ago, things were starting to gel on the series front, with not only the two pilots shown in the afternoon (The Great and the dramedy Looking for Alaska) but also a soon-to-lense series called Emily in Paris, which stars Lily Collins and is penned by Sex and the City alum Darren Star.

On the feature film side too, “Our movies are getting bigger,” Cohen said, pointing to, among others, the latest Tom Cruise project Top Gun: Maverick to be released in 2020. (A sizzle reel unveiled another dozen upcoming movies to the afternoon audience of 200-odd viewers.)

Most of the major studios, including CBS, will wind up their LA Screenings sessions Thursday, and/or hold meetings with some top buyers. As yet there doesn’t appear to be competitive bidding in multiple territories for any single show, though a dozen or so pilots have received consistent high marks from a variety of buyers.

Visit WorldScreen.com’s Fall Season Grid for all the details on the new and returning shows on the U.S. broadcast networks, and a listing of pickups by studio.