TV News Roundup: NBC Releases First Act of Fall Drama ‘Manifest’
By Nate Nickolai
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – In today’s roundup, NBC releases a sneak peek at “Manifest” and Hulu drops the first full trailer for “The First”
DATES
The original “X-Files” are returning to television Sept. 10 as part of BBC America’s five day marathon in honor of the show’s 25th anniversary. The marathon will feature seasons one through nine as well as both feature films and will end on Sept. 14.
“Food: Fact or Fiction” will return for a third season Oct. 1 at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT on the Cooking Channel. Show host Michael McKean will try to uncover stories about favorite baked goods, civil war secrets about the Whoopie Pie and the paranormal nature of rhubarb pie.
IFC will premiere the 28 minute web series “An Emmy for Megan” Sept. 17. The series follows creator, producer, director and star Megan Amram as she embarks on a quest to win an Emmy. The show itself has received an emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series alongside an Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series nomination for Amram.
will air “The Paley Center Salutes ‘This Is Us’” Sept. 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The one hour special will feature interviews with the stars and creators of “This is Us” as well as a behind-the-scene look at the making of the show each week. The third season of “This Is Us” is set to premiere Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
FIRST LOOKS
NBC released the first act of the upcoming series “” as a nine minute clip on YouTube. During the act, passengers of Montego Air Flight 828 land safely after a turbulent flight only to discover that they have been missing for five years. The full show will premiere Monday, September 24 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Watch the trailer below.
original “The First” will debut all eight episodes Sept. 14. The series stars Sean Penn who leads a crew of astronauts in an effort to become the first humans on Mars. Watch the trailer below.
Facebook Watch has released the first trailer for “Sorry for Your Loss,” will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and debut
Sept. 18 at 9PM ET
/6PM PT on Facebook Watch. Elizabeth Olsen produced and stars in the ten episode series, which also stars Kelly Marie Tran (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi“), Jovan Adepo (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan“, “Central Park Five“), Mamoudou Athie (“The Get Down,” “Unicorn Store“), and “Janet McTeer” (“Me Before You,” “Jessica Jones“). Watch the trailer below.
CASTING
Tyler Hoechlin, Justin Chatwin, Samuel Anderson and Elizabeth Faith Ludlow have joined Aaron Martin’s Netflix series “Another Life” alongside previously announced cast members Katee Sackhoff and Selma Blair. “Another Life” follows astronaut Niko Breckinridge (Sackhoff) as she leads a mission to explore an alien artifact. Director Omar Madha is also set to direct the first two episodes of the series, which Netflix ordered last April.
Denise Boutte will take the lead role in the upcoming BET movie “Her Only Choice” directed by Christel Gibson. The movie will follow middle-aged Tasha Jackson (Boutte) as she decides between cancer treatment or her unborn child. Boutte was most recently seen in a recurring role on IFC’s “Stan Against Evil.” She is repped by Innovative and Newman Thomas Management.
“The Americans” actor Costa Ronin is set to appear in the second season of “Splitting Up Together” as the recurring character Vladislav. Ronin will star alongside series regulars Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson who play a newly divorced couple on the show. “Splitting Up Together” returns Oct. 16 at 9:30 p.m. on the ABC Television Network.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Tina Gazzerro-Clap joined MGM company‘s Evolution Media as executive vice president, programming following her position as the president of nonfiction programming at Go Go Luckey Entertainment. Previously, Gazzerro-Clap served as the showrunner for Evolution’s “Big Juice” reboot and worked on “Project Greenlight,” “Joe Millionaire,” “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” and “Raising McCain.”
The video aggregation platform VRV has partnered with Nickelodeon to launch a NickSplat branded streaming channel. NickSplat rotates Nickelodeon content from the 1990s, which includes shows such as “The Angry Beavers,” “CatDog” and “The Wild Thornberrys.”
DEVELOPMENT
The Sesame Workshop has awarded creative development deals to emerging television writers Nayna Agrawal and Roxy Simons, following the end of the second annual “Sesame Street Writers’ Room“ fellowship program. Seven fellows were selected from a pool of 450 applicants for the eight week program, which aims to highlight underrepresented talent in children’s media.
