All the latest news from the global content industry on Friday, 18 July

 

Paramount+ confirms Tulsa King spinoff

Paramount+ has landed Samuel L. Jackson to headline his first TV series following the greenlighting of Nola King, the first spinoff from its Tulsa King show.

Jackson’s character, Russell Lee Washington Jr., will be introduced in the upcoming third season of Tulsa King that will debut in September.

Nola King follows Russell Lee Washington Jr. who, after befriending Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) during a ten-year stint in federal prison, is sent to Tulsa by New York’s Renzetti crime family to take Dwight out once and for all.

Taylor Sheridan, Stallone and Jackson exec produce. David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Michael Friedman and Keith Cox also executive produce. The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of the Paramount+ markets.

 

Lip Reading The Royals goes global 

Seven in Australia is among buyers of upcoming documentary series Lip Reading The Royals, produced by Content Kings.

The show, which is sold by Silverlining Rights and will air on 5 in the UK as a 90-minute special, has also been picked up by TVI (Portugal), Hot 8 (Israel), LRT (Lithuania) and streamer True Royalty TV for its US subscribers through Prime Video, Comcast Xfinity, and Roku Premium.

The 3 x 60-minute show sees a team of top lip readers dissect footage of some of the Royal Family’s biggest moments to provide viewers with the unprecedented chance to listen in on the secret conversations of senior members of the Royal Family. 

 

X orders first UK original series

Social media giant X has partnered with Burnley FC for the platform’s first UK original series and its first-of-a-kind deal with a Premier League club.

Keeping the Faith is produced by AdHoc Films and will follow the team through the 25/26 Premier League season, with 20 episodes dropping fortnightly. It will offer fans unprecedented real-time access to the team and crew as their campaign progresses.

Eighteen X originals have been commissioned so far out of the US, Japan and MENA, spanning sport, pop culture, business and finance. The multi-year strategic partnership will also expand to live streaming opportunities, as well as short-form content on the platform.

 

The Assembly to return for seven-part run

Interview format The Assembly is returning to ITV in the UK with a bumper seven-part series.

The debut run of the Rockerdale Studios-produced show, which sees a group of inquisitive interviewers who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled, was commissioned for a four-part run by ITV1 after it first debuted as a pilot on the BBC in 2024.

The show is an adaptation of the French format Les Rencontres du Papotin, which has featured appearances from leading Gallic figures including President Emmanuel Macron. The title now airs in 14 territories including French Canada, Australia and Brazil.

Six fresh, currently under-wraps, celebrities will step up to the plate for ITV’s second series, which will also include an additional episode – The Assembly: Unseen. Read more