The comedy marketplace is coming off a tough year with few buys and even fewer greenlights as the number of networks and platforms focused on comedy fare has continued to drop. Amazon last year shut down Freevee and Comedy Central, TBS, TruTV and IFC have all gotten out of the live-action scripted comedy business over the last couple of years. The broadcast networks produce a fraction of the comedy output they had just a decade ago, and streamers prioritize noisy dramas over comedies in pursuit of subscriber acquisition and retention.
Amid the pullback, HBO has spent the last year rebuilding its comedy slate after the departure of stalwarts like Curb Your Enthusiasm and Barry. In 2024, the network ordered two comedy pilots from writer-performers, Tim Robinson’s The Chair Company and an untitled Rachel Sennott half-hour, both of which were picked up to series that are currently being written.
Additionally, HBO last May gave a straight-to-series order to a Bill Lawrence college comedy starring Steve Carell, and the show is finishing casting. It was followed by another series order to Kansas City Star starring Kaley Cuoco, from the creators of Hacks, and most recently a pickup of a series created by and starring Sharon Horgan. As a result of these moves, HBO has a slate of comedy series that is larger than any broadcast network or streamer except for Netflix.
HBO’s Head of Comedy, EVP Amy Gravitt, who succeeded HBO and Max Content CEO Casey Bloys in the role almost eight years ago, spoke of the network’s comedy buildup amid the genre’s downturn after The Righteous Gemstones' Season 4 premiere last week. >>>Read The Interview
Related:
HBO Comedy Boss On ‘The Franchise’ Cancellation: “I’m Really Proud Of That Show” |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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'Giant' Project - Woody Harrelson and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) are attached to star in Giant, a remake of Corazón de León. Marcos Carnevale, who wrote and directed the 2013 original, will direct the English-language version. >>>Deals With Prejudice
Fred Rogers, Peter Engel & Kids TV - Carl Kurlander is a screenwriter (St. Elmo’s Fire) who served as a writer-producer for four of Peter Engel’s NBC series. He was mentored by Engel, the man behind Saved by the Bell, who died last week. Here, Kurlander contrasts the wildly different paths taken by Engel and Fred Rogers that led each to generate programming that helped kids cope. >>> Guest Column
Tentative Off-Broadway Union Deal - Off Broadway’s much-honored Atlantic Theater Company and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees have reached a tentative agreement that could see the Atlantic become the first-ever not-for-profit theater company producing solely Off Broadway shows to have such a union agreement. >>>Requires Ratification |
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The founders of documentary production company The Cinemart are looking to grow after scoring big with series such as Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal and American Murder: Gabby Petito, and scoring investment from a Banijay-owned business. Last year, the company, which is also behind Hulu’s Fyre Fraud and Amazon’s LulaRich, struck an overall deal with Truly Original, the Banijay-backed producer behind The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Summer House. Michael Gasparro, who runs The Cinemart alongside Julia Willougby Nason, told Deadline, “That partnership is about building out the company. >>> Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Emmy winner Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) is the latest big name added to the cast of Showtime’s new drama series Dexter: Resurrection, which chronicles a new chapter for Michael C. Hall’s serial killer Dexter Morgan.
Spyglass Media Group and Paramount’s Scream 7 is continuing to build on its already impressive ensemble as sources tell Deadline Michelle Randolph and Jimmy Tatro have joined the cast.
Hacks star Jean Smart will return to Broadway this summer in the world premiere of Jamie Wax’s darkly comedic one-woman play Call Me Izzy. |
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More News
⛰️ Skydance’s legal team is fighting back against efforts to derail its pending $8 billion merger with Paramount Global, filing a letter with the FCC accusing a rogue rival bidder of trying to “hijack” the regulatory review process.
📆 The Sony Pictures release of the romance drama A Big Bold Beautiful Journey starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell is heading to Sept. 19 this year instead of May 9.
⚖️ Buck Woodall’s five-year battle with Disney over who really created Moana looks to have come to an end, with a Los Angeles jury on Monday finding for the House of Mouse in the animated franchise dispute, at least for now. |
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Obituaries
🕯️ Stanley R. Jaffe, a film executive and producer who won a Best Picture Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer and was nominated for Fatal Attraction during a career that also included producing such films as The Bad News Bears, Taps, Black Rain and Goodbye, Columbus, died Monday. He was 84. 🕯️ Simon Fisher-Becker, a British actor who had a recurring role in Doctor Who as well as in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as Hufflepuff ghost Fat Friar, died Sunday. He was 63. 🕯️ Wheesung, the hit-making South Korean K-pop star and R&B singer, was found dead in his home in Seoul on Monday evening, local law enforcement said. He was 43. His death was confirmed by his agency, Tajoy Entertainment, which said it was caused by cardiac arrest. Police do not suspect foul play. 🕯️ 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Tue - Robert De Niro on Seth Meyers
Wed - Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney debuts; National CineMedia investor day
Fri - Black Bag opens |
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Home Grown - Native Texan Matthew McConaughey brought son Levi Alves McConaughey and wife Camila Alves to the The Rivals Of Amziah King world premiere at SXSW. The film, McConaughey's first in six years, drew a standing ovation. |
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