Jenny Croswell, EVP, head of investment and agency operations, and Matt Bailey, VP of media investment and activation, at Horizon Media Canada are among the media execs in New York this week to attend some of the U.S. Upfront presentations – and provide some of their thoughts for Media in Canada.
The Disney Upfront showcasing content across ABC, ESPN, Hulu, Disney+ and FX took place at Javits Center Tuesday afternoon. Our assumption is this is the first Upfront that’s been held at this venue, given our cab driver asked if we were heading to a car show.
Like on Monday, a peaceful protest by striking WGA writers continued outside the venue, but unlike NBCUniversal and Fox, Disney chose not to acknowledge the strike during a presentation that was more than two hours long. But the impacts of the strike could be felt in Disney’s presentation, which was focused on unscripted programming like live sports, reality TV and news.
Rita Ferro, VP of advertising, opened the presentation stating Disney was prepared to meet every challenge and spoke about Disney’s strength in entertainment, sports, news and streaming. She asked advertisers to commit to intentional investment and to lean into diversity across all dimensions. Ferro also tossed out a couple of toothless stats like Disney+ has experienced “healthy” growth with both audiences and advertisers and Disney has over 300 “wins” this year.
Ferro then introduced Serena Williams who kicked off the ESPN portion of the presentation by introducing the network’s latest documentary: In the Arena: Serena Williams, an expansion of the award-winning Man in the Arena series with Tom Brady.
Nearly half of the presentation was dedicated to ESPN, with analyst Pat McAfee, an American sports analyst speaking script-free in a manner best described as a mix of a professional wrestler and a preacher, and for long enough that a red, bouncing “wrap it up” text appeared across all of the teleprompters in the room.
The ESPN portion, as well as the news-focused part of the Upfront, all could have been much more concise. But once they wrapped, Jesse Palmer, host of The Bachelor, came on stage to announce a Bachelor spin-off, The Golden Bachelor, which will air this fall on ABC and Hulu and feature a more mature bachelor looking for love. Kim and Khloe Kardashian were also paraded on stage and confirmed there will be an additional 20 episodes of The Kardashians airing on Hulu starting this May, while Kim also confirmed she will be joining season 12 of FX’s American Horror Story.
Disney+ gave new and refreshed looks at previously-announced Marvel and Star Wars programming. Marvel’s slate includes Secret Invasion starring Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman. It was difficult to decipher exactly what was going on in the clip, but we could piece together that Nick Fury has discovered something untoward – based on the casting and the Marvel branding alone it will likely do well. Echo, a limited series spin-off based on Hawkeye character Maya Lopez, features an all-Indigenous cast and crew.
For Star Wars, The Acolyte is a new addition to the Star Wars franchise during an era never before seen on screen, taking place 100 years before Episode 1. Skelton Crew stars Jude Law in another Star Wars franchise program that takes place in the same time period as The Mandalorian. Ahsoka, starring Rosario Dawson, is a live action spin-off of a Jedi character established in the animated Clone Wars series – and seemed to have the most hype surrounding its announcement.
Disney also offered sneak peek of Pixar’s first ever original series Win or Lose, which follows a co-ed softball team called The Pickles. Each week a member of the team is featured, and their experiences are visualized on the screen. For the softball team’s name alone, it looks like a promising series.
Ryan Seacrest was the final presenter and spoke about new and returning programming across ABC and FX, all of which will also stream on Hulu. There was a preview of Shogun, a dramatic mini-series about samurai set to air on FX and Hulu. It was stated that Shogun is the largest production in FX history and it kicked off in a big way with a horde of performers in samurai armour engaging in a sword fight on stage before the clip aired.
Another new series is Black Cake, a Harpo Films production, based on a bestselling novel and described as a family drama wrapped in a mystery. A mother leaves behind a flash drive for her estranged daughters which uncovers previously unknown stories about her upbringing.
Returning programs are familiar favourites American Idol, Abbott Elementary, Greys, Anatomy, Good Doctor, The Rookie, Will Trent, The Conners, Not Dead Yet, 911 (new to ABC), Station 19, Handmaids Tale (sixth and final season), The Great, Only Murders in the Building (Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd are joining the cast) and The Bear.
