Joy Bryant and Henry Simmons will star in the second season of Ava DuVernay’s anthology series, “Cherish the Day.”
Production of the OWN drama series will begin in July, with Season 2 expected to debut next year. It will tell the love story of Ellis (Simmons) and Sunday (Bryant), who fell in love in high school and find themselves reunited in New Orleans. In the years that have passed, Ellis has transformed from a basketball player to a single father of two kids, while Sunday is a vegan celebrity chef on the precipice of fame. Each episode of the season-long narrative take place over the course of a single day in order to unveil the significance of both extraordinary and everyday moments to the functioning of a relationship. “Cherish the Day” is produced for OWN by Array Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Bros. Television. DuVernay, Paul Garnes, Raynelle Swilling, Teri Schaffer and Oprah Winfrey serve as executive producers.
Also in today’s TV news roundup:
FIRST LOOKS
Netflix released a trailer for “How to Become a Tyrant,” premiering on July 9. Narrated by Peter Dinklage, the historical series tells the stories of the 20th century’s most notorious and brutal dictators. Using dark humor to present the case for absolute rule, the series serves as a cautionary tale, offering insight as to why tyrannical patterns repeat. Watch the trailer below.
Hulu released a trailer for “McCartney 3,2,1,” a six-episode series featuring Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin that premieres on July 16. In the trailer, McCartney and Rubin discuss the stories behind iconic songs including “Come Together,” “All My Loving,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Maybe I’m Amazed” and more. “McCartney 3,2,1” is directed by Zachary Heinzerling and executive produced by McCartney, Rubin, Scott Rodger, Peter Berg, Matthew Goldberg, Brandon Carroll, Jeff Pollack, Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern with Leila Mattimore serving as co-executive producer. Endeavor Content is the studio, producing alongside MPL Communications Inc., Shangri-La, Film 45, Kennedy Marshall and Diamond Docs. Watch the trailer below.
PROGRAMMING
Netflix announced that “The Standups” will return for a third season, premiering sometime later this year. The season will comprise six half-hour specials from Brian Simpson, Dusty Slay, Janelle James, Mark Normand, Melissa Villaseñor, and Naomi Ekperigin. The season will tape live this summer in New York City.
PARTNERSHIPS
WWE has teamed up with Rolling Loud to bring “Friday Night SmackDown” to the Miami rap festival on July 23. WWE Superstars will compete in matches live from the same stage as festival headliners Travis Scott, Post Malone and A$AP Rocky. The July 23 edition of Fox’s “Friday Night SmackDown” will feature a split-site broadcast with multiple matches at Rolling Loud Miami and the remainder of the event held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. This partnership marks the first collaboration between WWE and a major music festival.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Ryan Lowerre has joined Lionsgate as president of domestic television and digital distribution. In his new role, Lowerre will oversee distribution and licensing of Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and TV library. Previously, he worked at Amazon Prime Video, where he most recently served as head of licensed content in the U.S.
Maral Mofrad has been named vice president of 360 Design at Showtime Networks Inc. In her new role, based in New York, Mofrad will lead design efforts across all consumer marketing, including print, on-air and digital. She previously worked at Netflix, where she led the creative design team in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region, working on titles including “The Witcher,” “La Casa De Papel (Money Heist),” “Sky Rojo” and “Tribes of Europa.”
