Is anyone even watching young adult TV anymore?
As the entire television ecosystem has been upended in recent years, dedicated spaces for YA content have all but disappeared. The CW swiftly cancelled nearly all of its scripted series, many of which targeted this audience, over the last few years. Freeform has done the same.
The streamers have largely taken up the mantle on speaking to young audiences, but still questions remain. With the rise of short-form content thanks to TikTok and YouTube, does this new generation of teens and young adults even care for longform, scripted content? How can streamers compete for Gen Z’s attention in such a fractured landscape?
“I don’t think the demand is dwindling,” Greg Berlanti, producer of definitive YA series like Dawson’s Creek to Riverdale, told Deadline. “There will always be a place for great YA. In fact, I think there is a huge opportunity for one of the current platforms to become the place people expect to find the best of it.” >>>The 'Outer Banks' Factor |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Dynamic 'Duo' - Acting couple Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood are set to play one on TV in Duo, a drama in development at NBC. Written by Wood with Rina Mimoun (Mistresses) as showrunner, the project, which has a script commitment, comes from Warner Bros. Television, where Benoist’s Three Things Productions and Mimoun are under overall deals. >>>Musical Elements James Mangold On Timothée Chalamet & Bob Dylan - Director James Mangold discusses his scorchingly realized A Complete Unknown, starring a magnificent Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. He holds forth on his discussions with Dylan, rumors about discontent on-set and the decision to have Chalamet perform Dylan's songs. >>>Baz Bamigboye's Column
Bobby Farrelly's Next Film - Following the November 25 Paramount+ launch of his holiday comedy Dear Santa, Bobby Farrelly has closed a deal to direct Driver’s Ed, a teen ensemble comedy to be fully financed and co-produced by Stuart Ford’s AGC Studio. >>>Casting Underway
'Rookie' Of The Year - ABC's hit procedural The Rookie may spawn a second spinoff series — and unlike the first one, it would stay in the cop show arena. The network, Lionsgate Television and 20th Television are in early development on the offshoot, written by The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley. >>>Set In Washington
'Blitz': Read The Screenplay - Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series highlighting the scripts behind the year’s buzziest awards-season films continues with Steve McQueen's Blitz, a searing period action drama that imagines one story of a million during The Blitz, when Nazi Germany bombed the UK for eight straight months during World War II. >>>See The Script
'Taste' Maker - Emmy winner Julie Bowen is set to star in the NBC and Universal Television half-hour comedy series Taste, currently in development, from writers and exec producers Justin Shanes (St. Denis Medical) and Nedaa Sweiss (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon). >>>'Modern Family' Star To EP
'Hot Bench' Goes Cold On LA - Another longtime Los Angeles-based TV production is leaving California. CBS Media Ventures‘ syndicated court show Hot Bench, currently in its 11th season, will move to Connecticut next season. >>>Tax Rebate |
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On Friday night, producer Charles Roven receives the 2024 Power of Cinema Award from the American Cinematheque for 40 years worth of films that have moved the cultural needle. That includes Oppenheimer, for which Roven accepted the Best Picture Oscar along with Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas. His list is long with films that have grossed billions of dollars and encompass Hollywood’s biggest stars and filmmakers spread across titles like 12 Monkeys, American Hustle, Three Kings, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel and other DC blockbusters.
Here, Roven gives Deadline readers a look at an array of his highs and lows, with epic war stories that formed the hard shell of a producer’s producer. Buckle up for a ripping read, one replete with brawls, a choking, firings, and even a wiretapping at the hands of Anthony Pellicano. >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Elizabeth Olsen has closed a deal to join Julia Roberts in Panic Carefully, a new Warner Bros. film that Sam Esmail will direct from his own script.
Exclusive
Arturo Castro (Road House) will star alongside John Cena in Apple‘s live-action Matchbox film, inspired by Mattel‘s iconic die-cast toy vehicle line, from Skydance and Mattel Films.
Exclusive
Asa Germann, a cast member on Prime Video’s The Boys and college spin-off Gen V, is the newest addition to the cast of Scream 7.
Exclusive
Anders Danielsen Lie, Ane Dahl Torp and pop singer Dagny have boarded Netflix's upcoming Jo Nesbø adaptation Harry Hole. The whodunnit serial killer mystery has wrapped production in Oslo, Norway after a 113-day shoot. |
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BY THE NUMBERS
13.6M - Number of global households to date for S2 of 'Tulsa King,' according to Paramount Global |
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More News 🎦 Top movie theater operator AMC Entertainment riled up investors this morning by revealing a plan to sell up to 50,000 shares of its stock. The stock fell 7% on the news.
🏆 No Other Land, the timely documentary directed by a collective of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, won Best Feature Documentary at the 40th IDA Documentary Awards in Los Angeles last night. It has swept most of the awards announced this week, including the Gotham Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle.
📺 Casey Bloys was in London touting Max’s local programing, as the U.S. streamer attempts to shift the narrative on local originals. Local original commissioning was halted in a number of European territories two years ago, but Bloys said, "part of the reason for doing this today was so you could see [local originals are] very much a part of what we are doing going forwards in many territories.” Salma Hayek-Pinault made a surprise appearance at the Max showcase and revealed Like Water For Chocolate had landed a second season.
🎭 Grammy winner Dolly Parton announced an open casting call for Dolly: An Original Musical — for which she is writing the music, co-writing the book and serving as a producer — including for the titular role of Parton at all ages to portray her “at different stages of her incredible life” |
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On the Radar
Fri - The American Cinematheque Awards; Sabrina Carpenter holiday special
Sat - Paul Mescal hosts SNL; Los Angeles Film Critics Circle Awards; Deadline Contenders Film: International
Sun - Deadline Contenders Film: Documentary; Trump on Meet the Press
Mon - Deadline's International Grand Tour kicks off with Hard Truths |
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Red Sea, Red Carpet - Michelle Rodriguez, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation Mohammed Al Turki and Eva Longoria attend the Opening Ceremony at the Red Sea International Film Festival. |
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