Warner Bros. TV Group is acting like a studio with a very busy future. The division has landed 12 new series orders since January, renewed a dozen existing shows, and reupped major deals with top creators — all while the fate of its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, remains uncertain.
Studio chairman Channing Dungey acknowledged the corporate turbulence but said it hasn’t slowed the work. “Certainly when I when I look up toward my boss and everything that’s happening on the corporate level, it’s a complicated time,” she said. “But it is not impacting our day-to-day business in any real way… My focus is continuing to work with the best creatives, develop the best shows, find the best homes for them, and that’s all been happening.”
Reeves and Wells Reup With Warner Bros. TV
The biggest news is exclusive to Variety: Matt Reeves and his 6th & Idaho production shingle have renewed their overall deal with Warner Bros. TV. Reeves first signed with the studio in 2020 to produce all his TV projects, including “The Penguin.”
Dungey praised Reeves’s track record. “Matt has a true knack for getting into the psyche of his characters and he and his team have delivered some of the most compelling, thought-provoking stories over the years,” she said.
The studio also reupped its megadeal with John Wells this summer. Wells’s HBO Max series “The Pitt” already won four Emmys last weekend and is expected to dominate the drama category at Monday night’s main ceremony.
Other major overall deals at the company include prolific creators like Greg Berlanti, Bill Lawrence, Chuck Lorre, Mindy Kaling, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky.
12 New Series Orders Since January
The studio’s new orders span multiple platforms and genres:
- “Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery,” the “Manifest” revival at Netflix
- “The People v. Gorilla Grodd,” a DC-themed true-crime mockumentary at HBO Max
- “Escorted,” a Brett Goldstein romantic comedy at Prime Video
- “Stillwater,” a horror drama at Prime Video
- “Afterlife With Archie,” a reimagined comic at Disney+
- “I Suck at Girls,” a sitcom at Netflix
The most recent order is the long-awaited revival of the “Manifest” franchise. The studio is also spending big on the upcoming “Harry Potter” series for sibling HBO Max. And it’s behind one of the most anticipated new Netflix shows of the coming year, “Scooby-Doo: Origins.”
A Dozen Renewals Across Every Platform
HBO Max picked up new seasons of “The Pitt,” “It: Welcome to Derry,” “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” and “Rooster.” Netflix renewed “Leanne,” “Untamed” and “Running Point.” Apple TV renewed “Shrinking” and “Bad Monkey.”
Broadcast hits also got new seasons. Fox renewed “Memories of a Killer,” and CBS renewed “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.” At ABC, “Abbott Elementary” — the No. 1 broadcast comedy in multiplatform among adults 18-49 — returns for Season 6 next month.
Dungey said the success of “The Pitt” has taught the studio two lessons about how audiences watch. “Audiences really love the weekly drop,” she said. “The Pitt” isn’t alone in this. “We drop ‘Ted Lasso’ weekly, for example.”
She thinks the weekly format builds a connection that bingeing can’t match. “I think that there is something about the event. I think you appreciate them more when you watch them one at a time as opposed to binge.”
The other lesson is about pacing. “The other really significant thing is the idea that you have it on an annual cadence,” Dungey said. “People right now are losing their mind that we’re already putting out teaser trailers for ‘The Pitt’ Season 3 when it feels like ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 just ended.”
“It keeps them engaged and it keeps them connected to these characters.”
She contrasted that with long waits between seasons. “When you’ve got 18, 20, 22 months between seasons, sometimes even longer, life goes on and you kind of forget. Like, ‘why did I like that show so much?'”
Dungey said she hopes more streamers will try to bring shows back on an annual cadence.
How “Manifest” Finally Came Back
The “Manifest” spinoff took time to get right. The original series did very well on Netflix, and there was a desire to continue to explore stories and ideas within that universe, Dungey said.
“It took a little bit for [creator] Jeff [Rake] and team to nail the right way to approach the concept,” she said. “Even though it’s taken a little bit of time, I think we’ve now built something else that has a really great long-running engine at its core.”
The new show is designed to work for newcomers. “It was very important to Netflix that people who never watched the original could dive in and appreciate it on its own,” Dungey said.
But longtime fans will find plenty to reward them. “If you were a hardcore fan of the original, there’s enough connective tissue and mythology and Easter eggs that reward you for having been a part of this universe for such a long time.”
That balance was the tricky part. “That’s part of why it was a little tricky to figure out exactly how we wanted to build it,” she said.
As for cameos from the original cast? “Possibly. There’s definitely room for some of that if we choose to,” Dungey said. “But at this point there aren’t any big plans to do that.”
Unscripted, Syndication and Animation
Dungey’s domain extends well beyond scripted drama and comedy. The studio’s unscripted slate includes new seasons of “The Real Housewives: New York City,” “The Real Housewives: Salt Lake City” and Season 30 of “The Voice.”
Syndication remains part of the portfolio with “Extra” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” Animation is also growing, with recent orders for Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Heist Brothers” and Tubi’s “Yokoso Scooby-Doo.”
As head of WBD U.S. networks, Dungey oversees top 10 networks TBS, TNT, TLC and Food Network. TLC launched the No. 1 new unscripted series with “Suddenly Amish.”
Discovery’s “Shark Week” had its best ratings since 2019 this year. “Puppy Bowl” scored its best audience in eight years across multiple platforms.
The Season 2 Problem
The industry has been talking a lot about Season 2 drop-offs on streamers. Dungey said that challenge is nothing new.
“It’s always been hard,” she said. “Back in the day, I always would say, getting through Season 2 is always the toughest. Because things launch, they’re new, they’re exciting, you’ve got a plethora of stories to tell.”
The uncertain timeline of a Paramount Skydance acquisition hangs over Warner Bros. Discovery. But the studio under Dungey is not waiting around to see how it plays out.
Source: variety.com
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