Showing posts with label Underground. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Underground. Show all posts

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Oprah Winfrey wont be saving the TV series Underground

Rumor had it that The Oprah Winfrey Network was one of the channels (in addition to BET and Hulu) considering picking up the show starring Jurnee Smollett and Aldis Hodge. But at an L.A. press event this week for her network's series, Queen Sugar, Winfrey confirmed that won't be happening.

"I can't afford Underground," Winfrey told a group of eight journalists. "It cost twice as much to make as Queen Sugar. As a matter of fact, my dear friend John Legend called me personally and asked me about it, but we'd already been talking about how we could make it work [...] it's like $5 million an episode, so we can't afford it. It's not cheap, I think because it's a period piece."

Winfrey added that on top of the price, though the show was often trending on Twitter, it just didn't have the ratings to justify the expense, especially considering that OWN is still a young and growing network. "We really tried to make it work," she says. "I wanted to make it work because I think it's a good show. I wanted to be able to save that show, but it did not make good business sense for me."

[SOURCE: Refinery29]

Friday, June 02, 2017

‘Underground’ Canceled By WGN America After 2 Seasons

WGN America is officially out of the high-end original scripted series business. As expected, the cable network today cancelled acclaimed drama Underground after two seasons. It follows the recent cancellation of fellow drama Outsiders as WGN America is changing its programming course, while its parent Tribune is preparing for its acquisition by Sinclair.

“As WGN America evolves and broadens the scope and scale of its portfolio of series, we recently announced that resources will be reallocated to a new strategy to increase our relevance within the rapidly changing television landscape. This move is designed to deliver additional value for our advertising and distribution partners and offer viewers more original content across our air,” Tribune Media President and CEO Peter Kern said. “Despite Underground being a terrific and important series, it no longer fits with our new direction and we have reached the difficult decision not to renew it for a third season. We are tremendously proud of this landmark series that captured the zeitgeist and made an impact on television in a way never before seen on the medium. We thank the incomparable creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski and the great John Legend, along with the talented creative team and cast who brought the unsung American heroes of the Underground Railroad to life. We are grateful to the loyal fans of Underground and our partners at Sony Pictures Television. It is our hope that this remarkable show finds another home and continues its stories of courage, determination and freedom.”

[SOURCE: DEADLINE]

Monday, May 08, 2017

Underground could be looking for a new network soon

There could be some bad short-term news for fans of the WGN America show Underground. The show which is popular with African American audiences could be looking for a new network soon due to the recent sale of WGN's parent company, Tribune Media to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

From Variety.Com:

Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley didn’t mince words: WGN America’s programming focus will be very different once Sinclair’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media is completed.

The Baltimore-based station owner has great ambition for using the heft of its expanded national footprint to launch new businesses, potentially even an MVPD-like bundle of channels, but high-end scripted originals will no longer be a priority if Sinclair and Tribune secure federal approval to tie the knot.

Ripley told Wall Street analysts Monday that WGN America’s ratings cannot support the channel’s current level of spending on original series. Sinclair’s focus will be on “repositioning WGN America for profitable growth.” Ripley noted that WGN America already had begun paring back under the direction of interim Tribune CEO Peter Kerns, emphasizing lower-cost originals and acquired series.

“The ratings WGN America (delivers) doesn’t justify the type of spending they do on the original programming side,” Ripley said. “The channel could be run much more profitably on a fraction of what they spend on programming.”

Ripley didn’t name specific shows but his remarks left no doubt the WGN America will back away from scripted dramas, a field it moved into aggressively under previous CEO Peter Liguori. Liguori left the company in March after four years at the helm.

“Underground,” WGN America’s top original series, has drawn critical acclaim and a respectable audience, by WGN America standards. The historical drama wraps its second season on Wednesday. It’s likely that producer Sony Pictures Television will look to find a new home for “Underground.”

Monday, April 25, 2016

WGN America renews Underground for a second season

“Underground,” the critically acclaimed first-year drama about the Underground Railroad and the most-watched original scripted series ever for WGN America, has been renewed for a second season.

The network announced Monday that “Underground” will return for a 10-episode second season in 2017. Production will get under way this summer for the series, which hails from Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios.

“With enormous pride we are announcing a second season of ‘Underground,’ a series that has resonated with so many passionate fans across the country,” said Matt Cherniss, President and General Manager, WGN America and Tribune Studios. “We are deeply proud of the work that the talented cast, crew and production team have done to bring this story to life, led by our gifted creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski and our partners at Sony Pictures Television.”

The cast includes Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Christopher Meloni, Alano Miller, Jessica de Gouw, Marc Blucas, Adina Porter, Mykelti Williamson, Amirah Vann, Johnny Ray Gill, Chris Chalk, Reed Diamond, Theodus Crane, James Lafferty, Renwick Scott and Jussie Smollett.

“Underground” continues its first season this week, and WGN America will air a full-season marathon of the show on May 11 leading into its finale.

[SOURCE]