Author: Lacey Rose

August 09, 2016 8:00am PT by Lacey Rose

The partners of Fulwell 73  Fulwell 73

His Fulwell 73 U.K. production company will now have a development deal with the studio behind James Corden’s breakout late night show.

The Late Late Show producer Ben Winston and his Fulwell 73 production company are laying down roots at CBS TV Studios.

The news comes a year and a half into Winston’s tenure at the CBS-produced late night show, which has garnered widespread critical praise along with its first Emmy nomination in the uber-competitive variety category. As part of the development deal, the independent U.K.-based production company will create all forms of TV — scripted, unscripted and digital — for the studio, with plans to develop for all linear and digital platforms.

Los Angeles-based Winston, who’s joined at the company by partners Leo Pearlman, Ben Turner and Gabe Turner, has already found stateside success with the sale of a Carpool Karaoke spin-off series to Apple Music. Much like the hugely popular Late Late Show segment, the stand-alone entry will feature 16 episodes in which stars drive around singing their favorite songs. (What the latter does not include is host James Corden in the driver’s seat.)

“Ben and Fulwell’s creativity and willingness to take risks have made them one of the U.K.’s most versatile, award-winning producers,” noted CBS TV Studios president David Stapf in a statement announcing the news Tuesday. “Now, with Ben working his magic in the U.S., he has redefined the late night arena with The Late Late Show with James Corden, turning it into a multiple Emmy-nominated late night talk show in just its first season. The new Carpool Karaoke weekly series is a great start to our partnership with Fulwell 73, and we look forward to more unique and innovative programming across different platforms.”

Added Winston, a member of THR’s Next Gen Class of 2015: “I am so delighted that we are partnering with CBS Television Studios. David Stapf and his team have been the greatest partners on The Late Late Show, and I am so excited about what else we can do together going forward.”

Pearlman echoed Winston’s enthusiasm, highlighting the opportunities as the company best known for its work across the pond turns its attention to the U.S. market. “It’s always been a dream of ours to expand into the U.S., and after the success of The Late Late Show, the opportunity to do so in partnership with CBS Television Studios is one that we can’t wait to start,” he said. “Less than 10 years since forming the company, we now have a chance to create content with America’s most-watched network, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

To date, Fulwell’s work has spanned TV, film, commercials and music videos. Among its efforts: the forthcoming Usain Bolt doc I Am Bolt, which will be released globally by Universal, as well as David Beckham’s Class of 92, also with Universal, and the record-breaking doc Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty’s Service.

Perhaps even higher in profile, at least among the tween set, is the company’s work with One Direction. Winston, who served as an executive producer on Britain’s The X Factor, has produced and directed movies, docs and music videos for the group.

James Corden

August 04, 2016 6:30am PT by Lacey Rose

Ryan Seacrest  Courtesy of Ryan Seacrest Productions

NBC’s late night host addresses the doom and gloom headlines surrounding the Games along with the ‘Idol’ memento he took from set and his plans to do more live TV.

Ryan Seacrest is days away from adding late night host to his already crowded resume. 

Beginning Saturday, the long-time American Idol host will debut his informally titled Olympic Late Night show, live from Copacabana beach. For two consecutive weeks, the hour-long entry will close out NBC’s day of coverage, with Seacrest interviewing athletes, recapping with experts and attempting to infuse some lighter lifestyle segments into the network’s coverage of the Games. “It won’t be quite as formal as the other broadcasts, which is fantastic for me,” he says by phone, “and you’ll get a little bit of everything.”

Having touched down this past weekend, Seacrest has spent the past few days familiarizing himself with Rio — with help from super-models and Brazil natives Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima — and studying up on the many athletes poised to come through. On Wednesday, he took a break from both to discuss the drumbeat of negative headlines surrounding the Games, the big “gets” when it comes Olympic interviews and his unfiltered thoughts on the future of Idol — and yes, he does believe there’s a future.

The headlines here are largely tales of crime, the Zika virus, severely polluted water and dead body parts washing up on the beach where you’re shooting your show …

If I didn’t read the headlines sent to me from the U.S., I wouldn’t know any of that.

How about the police presence?

The police presence and the troop presence is very visible. I’ve gone for these great runs on the beach, and you can’t go a block without seeing some sort of presence of police or military so you feel incredibly safe. People are out at 6 a.m. on the path exercising through sunset, it’s really been very pleasant.

So, the headlines and concerns are a bit overblown?

I’m not saying that. Obviously they’re not making that up – there are things that are of concern, but from where I have been and the things that I’ve done, I haven’t been exposed to any of it other than the security.

You’re going to be doing a late night show each night. What can you reveal about the format?

We’ll be broadcasting live from Copacabana Beach, and the set is built on the sand. The waves have been so big that they’ve been close to crashing on the set, which could be fun. [We’re not hoping for] them to hit the cameras, of course, but the tide has been coming in pretty strong and it makes for a beautiful backdrop. As for the format, it will vary depending on the action that happens during the day and what is broadcast during the day on NBC. We’ll have athletes come by live to talk about things that are upcoming for them or, if they have medals, after to talk about some of their action. We’ll be able to run back some of the events of the day that perhaps didn’t run in primetime. The premise to let it be a little looser than you might see earlier, and you’ll get a little bit of everything.

You flew to Rio with a three-ring binder full of background material on the events and athletes competing but I don’t imagine you’ve gained Bob Costas’ expertise just yet. Of concern or is that not necessary to do a show like this?

What’s great about the Olympics is that they’re about sports, but they’re also about people’s stories. I love to talk to people about their stories, whether it’s in sports, entertainment or everyday life. It’s still about how did they get here, how did they do and where are they going — that’s the foundation of any great conversation with someone about their story. So, I’m approaching it from that point of view. Obviously, I have a ton of material to read, too, and I’m also working with an incredible staff. I’m not used to having this many people working for me.

Assume you’ll also call on NBC’s stable of on-air experts when it comes to specific events?

Of course. If something happens in any event that we want to recap or rehash or highlight in the live show, we’ve got someone who can come in and talk stats and details.

What will your day to day entail? Will you physically attend any of the events?

I’m not scheduled to go to any at this point because I’m doing the radio show at 10 am our time into the afternoon and then I’ll probably work out and then go down to our set and watch the NBC feed. I hope to get to some of the events though but, for the most part, I’ll be watching what America is watching through a feed on NBC. I guess I’m going to see how it all goes. Remember, I’m not used to being up that late. I’m trying to figure out how this is going to play on my body because we don’t get off the air until 2:30 a.m. local time. I’ve seen that hour on a Friday or Saturday, not so much on a Tuesday. [Laughs]

Going in, what are the narratives that excite you most?  

Well, you’ve got the [Michael] Phelps story: retirement and then coming back. And I sit down with the women’s gymnastics team live on primetime with Bob Costas [tonight]. They’re a fantastic story. Those are big stories and then there are the things that you can’t predict because this is live sports.

I don’t imagine you’ll be coming out with a traditional late night monologue, but I’m curious if you got any advice from your pal Jimmy Fallon, who has plenty of experience doing an NBC late night show?

You are right there. [Laughs] This is not a late night comedy show, it’s the late night hour of NBC’s Olympic coverage. Because of the hour and the fact that there’s not as much going on, we can have a little more fun with it. Like, we may cover the trampoline event just because it’s fun. We’ll look for things like that. As for Jimmy, he and I spoke briefly and I think he’s psyched about getting a little breather. [The Tonight Show will be dark during the Olympics.]

Back up for a second. Is there really a trampoline event?

Oh yeah. I’ll have trampoline for you every night. [laughs]

The London Olympics were your first foray in sports. What did you learn from that experience that you’re applying here?

I had never worked in the sports division with this group of experts who had done this all of their lives, so I was taking everything very, very seriously. Not that I’m not now, too, but I didn’t quite know how I was going to do. What I learned that the Games are not just for a specific demographic, the Games are for everybody. This is really family viewing, it’s an all-call. So I hope we can connect with everybody. One of the great things about Idol over the years is that it was appointment viewing for everybody, especially in the first 10 years.

Speaking of Idol, for which you earned your 12th Emmy nomination as host, this is the first August where you’re not off for auditions. Which part of the show do you miss the most?

The people. You used to go away for summer break but you knew the school season would start again and you’d get to rekindle with all of these people whom you were really close to and who were really close to you. This time we got summer break but I wont get to see these people in homeroom again. That’s the bittersweet part of it. In terms of realizing that it’s truly gone, I don’t know that it’ll kick in until we’re not on the air anymore. But I have the judges’ desk, they gave me that, so I can sit and play at home.

That’s great. Where do you keep it?

It’s my garage right now but I might make a bar out of it for the game room. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Your Idol finale signoff — “Good night America… for now” – got a lot of attention. What did you mean exactly?

There’s nothing that has officially happened or was happening officially that inspired me to say that. I just personally felt like saying it — and I felt like with a brand like American Idol, I have a hard time believing it’s gone forever. I don’t know in what capacity and on what platform it could be reimagined, but it seems to me that at some point a re-imagination of the franchise would be a likely pursuit.

Creator Simon Fuller seems to agree. He told Billboard that “there will no doubt be another format or refinement or elevation of the format” after he and the show has a chance to catch their breath. That said, did you have any sense for the frenzy or hoopla those two words you uttered would generate?

I didn’t think through the hoopla of it, I just thought of saying it right at the last second so that no one could come out and say anything to me afterward.

Or come out before and tell you not to say it?

Or before and not to, right. [laughs]

If Idol were to come back in another iteration, would you want to be a part of it?

Absolutely. I’m grateful for what that show has done for me personally and professionally, so without a doubt I’d love to be part of whatever exists. As a host, as a producer, as both – whatever role seems to be the one that they’re enthusiastic about and fits the bill.

In your eyes, did it end at the right time?

I do think it did. Look, to have 15 years of a show is an incredible run. Simon Fuller makes a good point: give it a break, let the world and our industry evolve — technology is changing things by the day – and then let’s see where we are in a year and how it fits into popular culture.

You’ve had more downtime than usual since Idol wrapped. What have you done that you’ve not had time to do in the past 15 years?

I’ve had time to think. Over the last decade, I’ve been sprinting from role to role to role and I loved that pace but it’s been nice to walk a little and not run. What I’ve realized when I’ve stepped back and had that time to think is that I love broadcasting, I love live programming. So I want to focus on the Olympics now and then when I get back home I’ll sit down and really look at what possibilities and opportunities I’m going to pursue [in that space] in the following year.

Is sitting beside Kelly Ripa, whom you’ve co-hosted Live with, something you’d want to do full-time? Or are you talking about emcee-ing another reality show?

On the most basic level, anything that is live excites me. I guess that’s point of entry for me when I start to think about things.

One allows you the breadth to be more yourself, while the other is about driving a game. Looking ahead, is one genre preferable to the other?

I like both. I like being part of a format and driving a contest and I always love being able to sit and talk to people and interview various celebrities and artists. Fortunately, I’ve gotten the chance to do a little bit of everything with Idol and my radio show but I can’t say one is more interesting to me than the other. Hopefully I’ll be able to do both.

American Idol 2016 Summer Olympics: Rio

July 27, 2016 1:30pm PT by Lacey Rose

Chelsea Handler  AP Images/Invision

The streaming service also doled out a second season order for Rob Schneider’s comedy series, ‘Real Rob.’

Chelsea along with Maria Bamford’s Lady Dynamite and Rob Schneider’s Real Rob will all live on at Netflix.

As part of a dizzying array of announcements to kick off the Television Critics Association summer press tour, the streaming service revealed Wednesday that it had ordered a 90-episode second season of Chelsea Handler’s eponymous talk show. In doing so, Netflix stressed that there would be a new global outlook for the series, with cameras following the acerbic host as she travels around the world, hitting such locales as Russia, Japan and Mexico City.

Additionally, the single-camera comedy based on what Bamford has accepted to be “her life” as well as Schneider’s exaggerated yet brutally honest depiction of his own life, will be back in 2017. Dynamite, which also counts Arrested Development‘s Mitch Hurwitz as an exec producer, earned positive reviews when it launched this spring. For its part, Real Rob will return with eight new episodes, though those who follow Schneider — the series’ director, producer and star — on Twitter have been aware of the renewal since March. 

Handler’s talk show, the first of its kind for Netflix, debuted in mid-May and is currently streaming three times a week exclusively on the service. Despite big buzz around the reported $10 million multi-project deal that the former E! star initially signed, the premiere came on quietly and the series earned lackluster reviews. Three weeks in, showrunner Bill Wolff was out, and Handler announced she’d be running the series solo.

In a candid interview from the Democratic convention this week, Handler acknowledged to THR that the show had gotten off to a “rocky start” in part because she hadn’t been on TV for some time. (In the interim, Handler filmed a series of well received Netflix doc specials, aptly titled Chelsea Does.) “There were a couple weeks where I was like, “What the f– am I doing?” she said. “Then I made the adjustment and was up and running and got the train on the track. And now it’s great. It’s exactly what I wanted to do. I get to talk about all different topics. I get to talk to interview people I’m interested in.”

She didn’t use the opportunity to explicitly blast her former and longtime talk show home, as she has been known to do. She once famously told Howard Stern that E! “had just become a sad, sad place to live,” adding: “They don’t know what they’re doing, they have no ideas … everything they do just is a failure.”

That Netflix is remaining committed to Handler says as much about the host’s renewed enthusiasm for the format as it does the service’s seemingly unwavering commitment to keeping its programming on the air. By not releasing ratings, the service is not beholden to the same public benchmarks.

Handler, one of precious few women in the late night talk space (if you can even call her series that given the all-day streaming nature of Netflix), reentered the landscape at a particularly competitive time. Within the past two years, the post-11 p.m. time period has welcomed a slew of new options, including James Corden, Larry Wilmore, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert (as himself). 

Television Critics Association Netflix