Debmar-Mercury & Will Packer Join Forces for Newsmag Show

Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury and Will Packer (Night School, Girls Trip) have teamed up for Central Ave, a multicultural entertainment news magazine show.

The daily, half-hour series will feature Julissa Bermudez (106 & Park) and former Olympic track star and five-time gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross as hosts. Its aim is to deliver relevant entertainment and pop culture news through a provocative, socially conscious and diverse lens. Central Ave will launch on November 4 for a 5-week preview on select FOX stations. Will Packer Media and distributor Debmar-Mercury are co-producing the series. Packer will serve as an executive producer on the series along with Kelly Smith and showrunner Monique Chenault.

Frank Cicha, executive VP of programming for FOX Television Stations, said: “We can’t wait to work with someone this successful who, when you ask how many syndicated strips they’ve worked on before, the answer is ‘none.’  I have to believe we’re going to get something fresh here. Will Packer doesn’t know what he can’t do in this space. That, to me, is invigorating.”

Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus commented: “Will Packer brings an entirely new and vibrant vision to syndication with Central Ave. We are excited to fill a need in the marketplace for a magazine show like this by partnering once again with our good friends at the FOX stations and a team headed by an A-List film producer of the caliber of Will.”

Packer added: “Central Ave will stand out in the newsmag space by presenting a unique first-person perspective on the culture-driving, trendsetting topics that mainstream audiences have a voracious appetite for. Being fronted by fresh voices that happen to be diverse and female gives us license to do stories in a way no one else can.”