Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, February 20th, 2025:
LAYOFFS AT INDIEWIRE
To be honest, this is news that I had been expecting to hear for a bit. Indiewire laid off three top editors today, according to The Wrap:
IndieWire laid off three top employees on Thursday, TheWrap has learned. Those exiting the outlet are Executive Editor of News Tony Maglio, TV Executive Editor Erin Strecker and Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire’s box office editor.
The cuts are the latest to hit one of Penske Media Corporation’s outlets, after Variety laid off three newsroom staffers in October and The Hollywood Reporter laid off several employees last summer.
And actually, Penske has had more exits that The Wrap notes, most recently, the November exit of Hollywood Reporter Co-Editor-In-Chief Nekesa Mumbi as well as the recent exits of THR's President Joe Shield earlier this month, along with NY-based film critic Mesfin Fekadu.
The Indiewire layoffs weren't a huge surprise given the uncertain spot the outlet holds in the Penske Hollywood Trade cinematic universe. Variety is the most industry-oriented, THR is increasingly celebrity lifestyle oriented, Deadline is the general consumer entertainment outlet and TV Line is the weird celebrity-ish kinda like a People Magazine Penske outlet.
Indiewire doesn't really have a clear editorial direction and my understanding is that it is the Penske outlet that has suffered the biggest drop in revenue and traffic in recent months. To be honest, I would not be surprised to see Indiewire shut down at some point in the near future.
CBS RENEWS MUCH OF ITS PRIMETIME LINEUP
CBS handed early renewals a number of its shows today: NCIS, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney; along with Tracker, Fire Country, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage and Elsbeth. Rookie drama Matlock had previously been renewed for a second season. And FBI still has two more years left on its three-year deal.
There's no word yet on renewals for FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International, The Equalizer, The Neighborhood, Poppa's House and the twice-canceled S.W.A.T.
MLB AND ESPN ARE PARTING WAYS
Major League Baseball have "mutually agreed to terminate their agreement after the 2025 season, according to a league memo from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Athletic's Evan Drellich. The two parties were under contract through 2028, but there was a March 1st deadline for either of them to opt out.
Both the MLB and ESPN have issued statements this evening reiterating their long relationship, which goes back to 1990. They don't rule out coming to some sort of other deal, one that would allow MLB to distribute games to even more streaming platforms and increased their revenue from game rights.
There are a number of questions facing MLB right now. The majority of individual media rights revenue had come from regional sports networks, which made the games available to local fans. ESPN carried the games with local blackouts and a few other deals completed the revenue pie.
But Diamond Sports Group, which ran more than a dozen teams' RSNs, filed for bankruptcy, leaving some teams in a lurch with local fans. MLB also complained ESPN wasn't properly promoting their games and that it wasn't clear what role baseball would play on the new ESPN mega sports app.
ODDS AND SODS
* When Life Gives You Tangerines follows the adventures of Ae-sun, "the remarkable rebel," and Gwan-sik, nicknamed “unyielding iron,” through four vibrant seasons on Jeju Island. It premieres March 7th on Netflix. Here is the first look trailer and a photo gallery of images from the limited series.
* Discovery has ordered a second season of five shows that premiered in 2024: Expedition Files, Hustlers Gamblers Crooks, In The Eye Of The Storm, The Last Woodsmen and Mud Madness.
* Nickelodeon has ordered a new 26-episode, 2D-animated series Avatar: Seven Havens, which is built on the mythology and adventure of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Here is the official logline: "Avatar: Seven Havens is set in a world shattered by a devastating cataclysm. A young Earthbender discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra – but in this dangerous era, that title marks her as humanity’s destroyer, not its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she and her long-lost twin must uncover their mysterious origins and save the Seven Havens before civilization’s last strongholds collapse."
* The Australian-produced Anna Torv drama Territory has been canceled after one season. Which is a shame for viewers who watched the series and were left with a big cliffhanger.
* ABC has given a straight-to-series order to 9-1-1 spinoff series 9-1-1: Nashville.
* NBC has given a season two order to Reba McEntire comedy Happy's Place.
* Netflix has ordered an action series based on the world portrayed in the Netflix original movie franchise Extraction. The yet-untitled action thriller series "follows a mercenary (Omar Sy) as he navigates a dangerous mission to rescue hostages in Libya. Trapped between warring factions and ruthless killers, the series delves into the emotional struggles of conflicted and flawed characters, each facing trauma, betrayal and life-or-death choices."
* ITV has renewed Professor T for a fifth season, which will likely air on PBS in the U.S.
* The documentary The Twister: Caught In The Storm premieres on Netflix. Here's the official logline: "Set against a backdrop of end of the world predictions on May 22, 2011, this coming-of-age documentary is told from the perspective of a group of young people in Joplin, Missouri, as they encounter the extreme power of mother nature when a rare EF-5 monster mile-wide tornado hits their hometown, on high school graduation day. In the fierce 200 mph winds of the twister, they discover the power of their resilience as they fight for survival - each with transformative stories spurred by their experiences of that day. This catastrophic event ravaged Joplin and yet it overcame, rebuilt, and became an enduring symbol of hope. The film features adrenaline-inducing real life footage filmed by people in Joplin, taking us into the eye of the storm." Here is a first look at the trailer.
* A young commoner comes of age and learns he's the last of a long line of Werewolves — and heir to the throne — in the animated adventure series Wolf King, which premieres Friday, March 21st on Netflix. Here is a first look at the trailer.
* In the upcoming movie Netflix The Life List, "a young woman (Sofia Carson) embarks on a journey of self-discovery, working through a list of goals she wrote as a teenager, at the request of her late mother (Connie Britton). As she navigates the messy process of her second coming-of-age, she confronts her grief while finding the courage to live fully again." Here is a first look at the trailer.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH:
Bea's Block (Max)
How I Escaped My Cult Series Premiere (Freeform)
Memes And Nightmares (Hulu)
Reacher Season Three Premiere (Prime Video)
Zero Day Series Premiere (Netflix)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST:
A Thousand Blows (Hulu)
Chris Distefano: It's Just Unfortunate (Hulu)
Fur Babies Series Premiere (NatGeo Wild)
Nigel Ng: The Haiyaa Special (Hulu)
Onside: Major League Soccer Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
Pantheon Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Surface Season Two Premiere (Apple TV+)
The Wrong Obsession (LMN)
The United States Of Rugby Series Premiere (The Roku Channel)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!