Turner Upfront Reveals More Originals, Platform Expansion

NEW YORK: Turner plans to roll out some 13,000 hours of original content across its bouquet of networks in the upcoming TV season, the company unveiled at its Upfront presentation this morning.

“When it comes to leading the transformation of this industry, engaging audiences across all platforms and reinvesting for success, Turner is delivering on all fronts,” said David Levy, the president of Turner. “Not only are we engaged in a massive effort to improve the viewing experience across our brands, Turner is also leading the industry with an extremely progressive approach to advertising, strategic investments in technology and platforms, partnerships with emerging companies and innovative distribution concepts that go beyond the traditional television ecosystem. Most importantly, we have been investing heavily in premium content across the portfolio, from original series to live events, sports and more.”

TNT will continue to add to its drama slate in 2017 with three new series. This includes Will, a period drama told in a contemporary style that follows the exploits of a young Will Shakespeare. The ten-episode series stars Laurie Davidson. Will comes to TNT from executive producers Craig Pearce (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet), Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth), Alison Owen (Elizabeth) and Debra Hayward (Love Actually). Vince Gerardis (Jumper), Howard Braunstein (The Informant!, The Client List) and Louise Rosager also serve as executive producers on the series. The pilot for Will was written by Pearce and directed by Kapur. TNT plans to launch the series in 2017 in the U.S., as well as on Turner International’s entertainment channels across the globe.

On the development side, TNT ordered a pilot for the political and social drama Civil, to be directed by Allen Coulter (Damages, Nurse Jackie, Ray Donovan) and written by Scott Smith (A Simple Plan). The story takes place in the wake of a hotly contested Presidential election, as America finds itself plunging into a modern-day Civil War. TNT has cast Niecy Nash (Reno 911, Scream Queens, The Mindy Project) in Claws, a dramedy pilot set in a Florida nail salon.

TBS launched three new comedies this year: Angie Tribeca, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and The Detour. The network plans to keep the momentum going with a second season of Angie Tribeca, launching on June 6, and the new comedy Wrecked, debuting June 14. Later this year, TBS will premiere the mystery comedy Search Party and the alien-abduction comedy People of Earth.

truTV previously greenlit three new series: Jon Glaser Loves Gear, Greatest Ever and Lifescaping (working title). The network has also given the go-ahead to two new specials: The Problem with Apu (working title), a feature-length doc from comedian Hari Kondabolu, and a new Impractical Jokers live special. On the development front, truTV ordered a total of six new pilots, including scripted projects from Melissa Hunter and Andrea Savage and unscripted projects from Hari Kondabolu, Kevin Pereira and Olivia Lee. truTV is also developing a comedic news show created by Jena Friedman.

Adult Swim’s returning original hits Rick and Morty, The Venture Bros. and The Eric Andre Show will be joined by a number of new original series and specials, including Robot Chicken: The Walking Dead Special; the live-action series Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace and Dream Corp, LLC from John Krasinski; a new comedy special from Brett Gelman; and the return of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack. Adult Swim also continues its collaboration with creator Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty) on a new pilot project, Art Prison. This morning the network announced a comedy series pilot from Childrens Hospital creator and star Rob Corddry.

Boomerang has the all-new Peanuts series coming to the network. The legendary print comic strips come to life using watercolor art style, textured backgrounds and framing in comedic vignettes. At Cartoon Network, new specials will air later this fall from the hit series Adventure Time and Regular Show.

CNN has three new originals joining its lineup. Soundtracks: Songs That Made History (working title) is an eight-part series executive produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Brian Gewirtz that will explore the music tied to iconic moments in history. The History of Comedy is an eight-part series executive produced by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner (Hazy Mills) and Mark Herzog and Christopher G. Cowen (Herzog & Company). The Nineties follows on the success of previous CNN decade series The Sixties, The Seventies and The Eighties.

Turner is also expanding the availability of its brands to subscribers through a portfolio-wide initiative to launch on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Google Chromecast. The rollout will begin in June with TBS and TNT apps launching on select platforms, followed by additional brands later in the year. The company also announced that Team Coco, the team who has helped drive Conan O’Brien’s digital and social media strategy, will now collaborate with brands to deliver original, social-first content through the brand-new Team Coco Digital Studios.

“Last year, I stood in front of you and stated that Turner would help lead the transformation of our industry,” said Donna Speciale, the president of Turner Ad Sales. “Our vision has not changed. We are doing it. We have transformed to be a data-driven content creation and distribution company that puts the consumer first.”