Hulu Acquires Seinfeld Starting in June; FX Orders Comedy Pilot with Jenny Slate, Ari Graynor

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Hulu Acquires Seinfeld Starting in June; FX Orders Comedy Pilot with Jenny Slate, Ari Graynor

Yesterday at the Hulu Upfront Presentation in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, they announced that Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription video on-demand (SVOD) rights to all episodes of iconic sitcom Seinfeld, as well as a new, multi-year agreement with AMC that grants Hulu the streaming rights to future programming from AMC Networks. In addition to presenting groundbreaking content deals and the upcoming slate of Hulu Originals, the company took the stage to publicly unveil new business growth benchmarks - including a 50% increase in subscribers - advertising innovations, and a deal with Cablevision Systems Corporation that will be rolled out over the next year. Back to Seinfeld, Hulu has acquired the exclusive SVOD rights to all episodes of the award-winning, hit series. After becoming one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, all nine seasons of the timeless comedy series will make their SVOD debut exclusively on Hulu. The series comes to Hulu in a new deal with Sony Pictures Television. Every episode of Seinfeld will be available for Hulu subscribers to stream this June.

Jenny Slate and Ari Graynor

FX Networks has ordered a pilot co-created by the award-winning team of Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm, starring Jenny Slate and Ari Graynor. Production of the pilot has begun in New York. Robespierre (Obvious Child) will direct the pilot and write it with Holm (Obvious Child, Welcome to Pine Hill), both of whom will serve as Executive Producers along with Ravi Nandan and John Hodges of A24 Films (The Bling Ring, Obvious Child) and Slate (Obvious Child, Married). The pilot is being produced by FX Productions.

The pilot is an honest comedy exploring the adult female friendship of two creative partners as they embark on a cross-country road trip. Jenny Slate and Ari Graynor (For a Good Time, Call... , Bad Teacher) star as "Lou" and "Viv," two gutsy born and raised New Yorkers who discover each other in their 30s, make a movie together, and jump into the great unknown of their next project. Lou and Viv find strength and vulnerability in each other, learning how to have a fight and somehow still get back in the car. It's like Thelma and Louise - but nobody dies. The pilot is the first major project for Robespierre, Holm, Slate and A24 Films since Obvious Child, a 2014 romantic comedy that marked Robespierre's feature film directorial debut and starred Slate. Among other awards for the feature, Robespierre was honored with the National Board of Review USA Award for Best Directorial Debut, Holm won the Red Crown Producer's Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and Slate received the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Movie. Slate currently co-stars on the FX comedy series Married, which is returning for its second season on Thursdays at 10:30 PM e/p, beginning July 16. Graynor most recently starred on the CBS comedy Bad Teacher. Stay with us for continued updates, should this pilot move forward as a series.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, November 13

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Pregnancy Test and an Old Man’s Gallbladder" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s jealousy rears its head when Mandy gets sent on an overnight work trip with her ex and current boss, Scott (Christopher Gorham). Meanwhile, Jim and Audrey panic when they find a pregnancy test in Connor’s trash.

Ghosts - "T-Daddy" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor’s relationship with his daughter is strained when he pushes her to follow a career in finance over poetry. Meanwhile, Jay confronts labor unrest at the restaurant.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 10)

Thursday, November 13

The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob swings by the studio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Olivia Holt (I Didn't Do It/Shake It Up) - Olivia appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Alicia Silverstone (American Woman) - Alicia talks about A Merry Little Ex-Mas on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - NBC's Today catches up with Jake in the 9am hour.
Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Oliver talks about Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Karen Pittman (And Just Like That...) - Karen talks about The Morning Show on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie joins the Tam Fam in a daytime exclusive to celebrate the new season of her hit show Elsbeth on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine talks about her new film Eternity on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers), Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - The Now You See Me: Now You Don't cast including Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Jesse Eisenberg, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa join Drew to dish all about the third installment of the hit franchise on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Lake Bell (Bless This Mess/How to Make it in America/Childrens Hospital) - Lake talks about HBO Max's The Chair Company on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.