Buzzfeed has announcedPaul Ricci will take over as the head of unscripted television at BuzzFeed Studios. In the role, Ricci will oversee all unscripted television programming for the company’s Hollywood arm and entire portfolio of brands including BuzzFeed, Complex, Tasty and HuffPost. Ricci will report directly at Richard Alan Reid, the head studios.
Ricci has more 20 years of experience in the television industry. He most recently co-founded development company BoomTown Content Co. In addition to Ricci’s hiring, BuzzFeed Studios will enter into a strategic development partnership with BoomTown Content Co. to develop new unscripted television projects. Some of the recent projects include “The Kids Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”Peacock “Who Wants To Be An Astronaut?”OnDiscovery and other projects are in various stages. BoomTown Content Co.’s co-founder Mark Efman will continue to lead it.
At Viacom — now Paramount Global — Ricci served as Head of Alternative Series for MTV VH1, working on hit series including Rob Dyrdek’s “Ridiculousness,” “Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party” “Hip Hop Squares.” Previously, Paul served as Head of Development & Programming for MTV2, where he developed and launched “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’n Out,” “Guy Code” and “Girl Code,”The channel is experiencing record growth.
DATES
Drama series “Queen Sugar,”Ava DuVernay is the creator and executive producer of this season. It will be shown on OWN on Tuesday, September 6, at 6pm. The contemporary drama, based on Natalie Baszile’s 2014 novel of the same name, has been directed primarily by women filmmakers for its entire run, an effort spearheaded by DuVernay herself in directing the series’ first two episodes. Nearly 30 filmmakers have made it onto the series. “Queen Sugar.” The show is produced for OWN by DuVernay’s Array Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Bros. Television. The series’ executive producers are Oprah Winfrey and Shaz Bennett.
SERIES
Picturestart and Brat TV have announced a new partnership that will co-finance and produce video podcasts. The podcasts will be hosted by prominent Gen Z influencers. The first series to launch under the new partnership will be Antoni Bumba’s video podcast “Reading The Stars,”A weekly chat show in which she will discuss pop culture, astrology and TikTok. Drew Afualo is the host of this episode. “The Comments Section,”YouTube and all other podcast platforms will make the show available from August 23rd. Challxn, Dylan Mulvaney and Victoria Paris are some of the other guests.
INTERNATIONAL
TelevisaUnivision is a Spanish-language media and content company that announced three new series. “Colapso,” “Isla Brava” “Senda Prohibida,”One new documentary film. “Absoluta”Production has begun. Vix+ will exclusively offer the four original productions as a subscription streaming service in Spanish.
“Colapso”Spanish-language adaptation of the French mini-series “Dystopian” “L’Effondrement.” “Isla Brava” follows a detective who works a missing persons case centered around infidelity within that person’s family. “Senda Prohibida” is produced by Giselle González and is a modern reimagining of Televisa’s very first novela. The documentary film “Absoluta”The Spanish national soccer team is the subject of this underdog story. It tells the story of two young men who enter a world that encourages individualism, stardom and ego. Jorge Laplace directs the documentary that features the main players of the Spanish national soccer team.
UKTV’s crime drama channel, Alibi, has co-commissioned a second season of hit series”Annika” with US broadcaster MASTERPIECE and All3Media International. This critically acclaimed series is based upon Nick Walker’s BBC Radio 4 drama. The second series will include Annika Strandhed’s return, Jamie Sives’s portrayal of Michael McAndrews, Katie Leung’s portrayal of Blair Ferguson, and Ukweli Rach as Tyrone Clarke. Silvie Furneaux will also return as Annika Strandhed’s daughter, Morgan.