World Screen

UNIVERSAL CITY: NBC has given a six-episode order for the new man vs. nature adventure series The Island, which features renowned survivalist Bear Grylls. The show is based on the hit Shine TV-produced British series of the same name. The entire series is filmed by the participants themselves. It watches …

UNIVERSAL CITY: NBCUniversal International Television Production has signed a one-year first-look deal with the U.K. writing team Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton, working under their film and TV production banner 87 Films. JoAnn Alfano, the executive VP of scripted programming at ITVP, will oversee the deal with 87 Films to …

NEW YORK: OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has added two new original series to its prime-time schedule, while also lining up additional episodes of the hit shows Deion's Family Playbook, Flex & Shanice and Welcome to Sweetie Pie's. One of the new productions is a spin-off of OWN's Iyanla: Fix My …

NEW YORK: South African comedian Trevor Noah has been tapped to succeed Jon Stewart as host of Comedy Central’s Emmy- and Peabody-winning The Daily Show. Noah joined the nightly news-skewering show last year as a contributor. He’d made his U.S. television debut in 2012 on The Tonight Show with Jay …

CHEVY CHASE: Travel Channel has promoted executive producer Brian Leonard to VP of programming and development. Leonard has been with the network since 2011, working on series such as Breaking Borders, Hotel Impossible, Man Finds Food and Time Traveling with Brian Unger. Before joining the channel, he served as a …

STAMFORD/SYRACUSE: Charter Communications and its subsidiary CCH I has reached a deal with Advance/Newhouse Partnership to acquire Bright House Networks, which is the sixth largest cable operator in the U.S. The business will be conducted through a partnership of which Charter will own 73.7 percent, and of which Advance/Newhouse will …

SEATTLE: Amazon has scored a multiyear content deal with Bleecker Street that makes Prime Instant Video the exclusive subscription home for such theatrical releases as Danny Collins, starring Al Pacino, and Pawn Sacrifice, featuring Tobey Maguire. Prime members in the U.S. will be able to enjoy the selection of films …

NEW YORK: Bravo Media is enlarging its slate of original series, with ten new shows and four returning programs, including a project that pairs Real Housewives of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak Biermann for a cross-country adventure. NeNe and Kim: The Road to Riches (working title) will star and …

WASHINGTON, D.C.: National Geographic Channel is marking the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope with a new one-hour special, Hubble’s Cosmic Journey, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Set to premiere April 20 at 10 p.m., the special will feature interviews with the key players behind the telescope, the astronauts …

LOS ANGELES: Veteran TV executive Nick Gilhool is joining Discovery Channel as its VP of casting. The hire will be effective April 6. Working out of Los Angeles, Gilhool will report to Denise Contis, the executive VP of production and development for Discovery. The exec will be responsible for all …