A finger-lickin’ good TV movie
Mario Lopez stars as Colonel Sanders in the new Lifetime TV movie A Recipe for Seduction.
As the holidays near, an heiress contends with the affections of a suitor handpicked by her mother. When the handsome chef arrives with his secret recipe and a dream, he sets in motion a series of events that unravel the mother’s plans.
The 15-minute movie is the brainchild of ad agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland. I’ll be very curious to see if it meets the dramatic heights of that time Colonel Sanders appeared in General Hospital (parts one and two are streaming now).
It debuts Dec 13.
The battle for the soul of HBO
Alex Sherman at CNBC has a thorough deep-dive into the last couple of years at HBO since the AT&T acquisition of what is now WarnerMedia. The feature details the conditions under which former HBO chief Richard Plepler left and the struggles since to rebuild the brand in a less siloed model that would serve as the foundation for WarnerMedia’s efforts going forward.
According to five people familiar with the meeting, Plepler laid out a simple path forward:
First, give HBO more money to spend on content.
Second, augment the Cinemax premium TV channel with more family-friendly original, library, and licensed children’s programming.
Third, sell HBO and Cinemax together for a couple dollars more than HBO — around $17 per month.
Fourth, hammer out a deal with Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, allowing the broadband distributor to sell HBO Go directly to broadband-only customers.
Finally, and most importantly, don’t blow HBO up.
Plepler’s team estimated this plan would guarantee $7.5 billion in annual revenue plus future upside depending on the success of the new content.
AT&T’s John Stankey had his eye on an annual $20 billion revenue.
Read: CNBC
More detail on the Charlie Brooker end of year special Wipe(?) thing
We still don’t know exactly what the Charlie Brooker end of year special is, exactly.
But we now know it will be called Death To 2020. Appearing on the special: Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, Leslie Jones, Diane Morgan, Cristin Milioti, and Joe Kerry.
The synopsis sounds very Wipe. And did you notice Diane Morgan’s name in there? Sounds like a return for Philomena Cunk.
2020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn’t make it up… but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a little something to add. Death to 2020 is a comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was — and perhaps still is? This landmark documentary-style special weaves together some of the world’s most (fictitious) renowned voices with real-life archival footage spanning the past 12 months.
TeeVee Snacks
- MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle is recovering from COVID-19. Source: Deadline
- Barack Obama (Best remembered for his role on
Between Two Ferns) will be interviewed on Desus and Mero. Read: Deadline - Is OnlyFans a billion-dollar media company hiding in plain site? Read: Bloomberg
- Big Sky has been given an additional 6 episodes, bringing season one to 16 eps. Read: TV Line
Trailer Park
Sweet Home debuts on Netflix December 18.
As humans turn into savage monsters and wreak terror, one troubled teen and his apartment neighbors fight to survive - and to hold on to their humanity.
What’s next?
