Country singer-songwriters Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Orville Peck have joined the new Apple TV+ music competition series, “My Kind of Country,” as scouts and judges to search the globe to find talented artists and break the next big country star. The series is set to premiere globally March 24 on the streamer.
Scouts Allen, Guyton and Peck each hand-pick a roster of up-and-coming artists and invite them to the home of country music in Nashville, Tennessee, to showcase their sound. The competition winner will receive a grand prize from Apple Music, which will include support and exposure on the platform. Executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves are also set to appear in the series.
Witherspoon and Musgraves executive-produce alongside Hello Sunshine’s Sara Rea and Lauren Neustadter, Sandbox Entertainment’s Jason Owen, showrunner Izzie Pick Ibarra and Done + Dusted’s Katy Mullan. Adam Blackstone serves as music director.
Also in television news today:
TRAILERS
Hulu has shared a teaser for its upcoming original comedy series “History of the World, Part II.”
After more than 40 years, the sequel to the seminal Mel Brooks film, “History of the World, Part I,” has arrived, with each episode featuring a variety of sketches that takes viewers through different periods of human history.
The series stars Mel Brooks, Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll, and Ike Barinholtz. Additional cast announced includes Pamela Adlon, Tim Baltz, Zazie Beetz, Jillian Bell, Quinta Brunson, Dove Cameron, D’Arcy Carden, Ronny Chieng, Rob Corddry, Danny DeVito, David Duchovny, Hannah Einbinder, Jay Ellis, Josh Gad, Kimiko Glenn, Brandon Kyle Goodman, Jake Johnson, Richard Kind, Johnny Knoxville, Lauren Lapkus, Jenifer Lewis, Poppy Liu, Joe Lo Truglio, Jason Mantzoukas, Ken Marino, Jack McBrayer, Zahn McClarnon, Charles Melton, Kumail Nanjiani, Brock O’Hurn, Andrew Rannells, Emily Ratajkowski, Sam Richardson, Nick Robinson, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Timothy Simons, J.B. Smoove, David Wain, Taika Waititi, Reggie Watts and Tyler James Williams.
The show will premiere March 6 with two episodes, with two new episodes dropping daily until its finale on the 9th. Check out the trailer below.
CLIPS
PBS will air the documentary “Unmasking Hope” Jan. 23 in markets including Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Baltimore, as well as on PBS Passport. From director Eric Christiansen, the documentary follows a diverse group of trauma survivors — from 9/11 and mass shootings to military combat and sexual assault — on their journeys to find hope again as they remove the mask that hides their pain.
Check out a clip below.
EXECUTIVES
Hot Snakes Media has named television producer Valerie Idehen as vice president of unscripted. Reporting into Hot Snakes Media president Naimah Holmes, Idehen will oversee all shows currently in production for the expanding bicoastal production company.
“Hot Snakes Media is building a team that is nimble, bold, and innovative,” Holmes said. “As our industry changes beneath our feet, Val brings the dynamism, business savvy and creative mindset that will help keep us a step ahead.”
In addition to her responsibilities for current series, Idehen is also tasked with continuing to expand the company’s development slate alongside Holmes. She will also be responsible for vetting and managing series producers and crews and ensuring creative quality control for all series.
Idehen most recently served as director of development for Propagate Content. She received her start in the business as a department assistant at Comedy Central in advertising and marketing before transitioning into production development at MTV.
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Producer Craig J. Harris has joined Seattle-based TLG Motion Pictures — run by producer Courtney LeMarco — as head of television development.
“We are proud to announce Craig as the newest member of our team. He is someone with great integrity and talent. He has nearly twenty years of experience as a producer, writer and director, Craig has also worked as a project coordinator/production manager, overseeing the planning, implementation, and budgeting of a wide range of productions,” LeMarco said of Harris’ hire.
Harris’ network television producing credits include Lifetime’s “Chicago ER,” multiple seasons of A&E’s “The First 48: Missing Persons” and the CNN docuseries “Chicagoland.” Projects produced from Craig’s scripts have garnered five regional Emmy Awards, a Telly Award, an AFTRA American Scene Award and a Proctor & Gamble Dream Builder Celebration Scribe Award.
STATISTICS
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network shared that after airings of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter,” which featured their National Sexual Assault Hotline, calls to the service increased 46%. Many of the survivors who called were first time callers of the service.
“When Surviving R. Kelly first aired in 2018, we had no idea how many people it would reach and touch. Now to see the number of calls to the National Assault Hotline continue to rise with the final installment, it is further proof this story needed to be told,” said Brie Miranda Bryant, SVP, Unscripted Programming and Development, Lifetime.
Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter was watched by over 3.5 million total viewers across linear and on digital.
