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.
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
Friday, July 26
The Conners - "Keep on Truckin'" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before.
The Conners - "Tangled Up in Blue" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene gets one surprise after another when David introduces his girlfriend at a parent-teacher conference and mentions that Mark & Harris will be spending the weekend with them.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 22)
Friday, July 26
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Watch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Burning Love/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Corporate) - Sasheer, Joe and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. NBC's Today catches up with Jennie in the 10am hour.
- Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus talks about his coming-of-age film How I Learned to Fly on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Delroy Lindo (UnPrisoned) - Delroy talks about UnPrisoned on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Dylan Sprouse (The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Grace Under Fire) - Dylan talks about Lionsgate's The Duel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season / The Complete Series
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
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