Around the Tubes: 11/20/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America, VH1 Throwback Thanksgiving, truTV, Winsanity, and Smithsonian Earth,

- A+E Networks and iHeartMedia have added to the all-star lineup for Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America on Friday, November 20 at 8:00. The sold out concert will be recorded at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, November 18th. The two-hour special event will air across the entire A+E Networks portfolio in more than 130 territories globally, including A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, H2, LMN and FYI, as well as on more than 130 iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio digital platform. Additionally, AOL has joined in the simulcast making the historic special event available to anyone with internet access across the globe on AOL.com. Artists Aloe Blacc, Andra Day, Nick Jonas, Tom Morello, Smokey Robinson and Big Sean join the previously announced performers including Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, Jamie Foxx, Rhiannon Giddens, Tori Kelly, John Legend, Miguel, Pink, Jill Scott, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Pharrell Williams. LL Cool J, Marshall Faulk, Morgan Freeman, George Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Kurt Warner and Nick Young are among the presenters joining the telecast.

- VH1 has prepared the perfect holiday feast with the ‘Throwback Thanksgiving’ 80’s movie marathon serving up some of the decade’s most memorable films. The five-day event will begin Wednesday, November 25th at 8PM ET/PT on VH1 with the John Hughes-directed classics “Sixteen Candles” followed by “The Breakfast Club.” This holiday, settle in for an extra portion of 80’s nostalgia with hit films throughout the weekend including “Back To The Future (Parts I, II, and III),” “The Breakfast Club,” “Caddyshack,” “Dirty Dancing,” “Footloose,” “The Goonies,” “Purple Rain,” “Sixteen Candles,” and “Top Gun.” The VH1 “Throwback Thanksgiving” 80’s movie marathon will be hosted by comedians Michelle Buteau, Jade Catta-Preta and Alesha Renee. Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #ThrowbackThanksgiving. For the complete schedule, please check vh1.com/shows/schedule and keep it on VH1 all Thanksgiving weekend long!

- At the one-year anniversary of its brand update, truTV is celebrating its momentum by ordering three new primetime series, renewing two fan favorites and announcing the development of two new unscripted series. The moves come on the heels of audience data showing that the network’s "Way More Fun" brand refresh is working, with more premium original programming growing an audience that is larger, younger and more upscale. This includes double-digit growth among adults 18-49 (+45 percent) and adults 18-34 (+55 percent) primetime ratings since November 2014, with its median age down to 33 (from 40 in September 2014 and 37 in November 2014). truTV's program expansion begins with three series greenlights: Almost Genius, a show that celebrates the people, places, and things that are almost successful, but can't quite cut it in the end, 10 Things, hosted by Girl Code’s Jamie Lee, a list-based collection of offbeat and unusual topics, and a new documentary series truOriginals: Inside Iconic Comedy, which goes behind the scenes of some of the funniest films ever made. truTV has also ordered 13 additional half-hour episodes of The Carbonaro Effect, which draws more than 1.2 million viewers and consistently ranks among the Top 10 programs in its timeslot with key demos. And the do-it-yourself hit Hack My Life – which wrapped the 2015 third quarter as a top ten show in its time period among cable entertainment networks among men 18-34 – received an order for 10 additional half-hour episodes. On the development front, truTV has two new series in the works, including a pilot order for Jon Glaser Loves Gear, a new hybrid show where Glaser (Trainwreck, Girls) delves into his love of looking at gear, shopping for gear, wearing the gear, and talking about gear and a pilot presentation for Inside Caucasia, a cultural travelogue created by comedians Naomi Ekperigin (Broad City, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell) and Andy Beckerman (The Pete Holmes Show, UCB Theatre).

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today it has greenlit 40 episodes of a new original game show series, Winsanity, to be hosted by actor and comedian Donald Faison (“Scrubs”). The show will begin shooting in early 2016. Each half-hour episode of Winsanity features a contestant attempting to rank ten compelling and surprising facts in numerical order, from lowest to highest (i.e.: Which is greater: the number of times a man thinks about sex in a day, or the number of words a woman speaks in a day?). Every time a contestant is correct and wins a prize, so does a randomly selected portion of the studio audience. However, if a contestant gives a wrong answer at any point, they, and the audience lose everything, and a new contestant takes his or her place and continues the game, trying to win prizes that increase in value with each round.

- Smithsonian Networks has just launched a new subscription video streaming service delivering spectacular original nature and wildlife content. The stand-alone ad-free service Smithsonian Earth will bring viewers closer than ever before to nature’s most remarkable animals and wildest locations. The announcement was made today by Tom Hayden, President of Smithsonian Networks.