This afternoon in New York, CBS held their annual Upfront presentation to affiliates and advertisers, touting plans for the upcoming year. This year the emphasis was on the CBS Television Network, and introducing new shows like the revival of Murphy Brown.
Like last year, Star Trek: Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green made an appearance at the Madison Square Garden event. According to live tweets from the entertainment press in attendance, Martin-Green spoke briefly about the growth of CBS All Access and touted the upcoming reboot of The Twilight Zone, but no new information about future releases was revealed, including release dates.
CBS also showed a sizzle-reel of original All Access programming including Discovery, but there does not appear to have been any new footage from season two. CBS and Martin-Green also brought a Discovery captain’s chair to the CBS Upfront party for guests to take pictures.
Last year‘s CBS Upfront presentation had the reveal of the first trailer for Discovery, however the show had been in production for over three months at the time. This year production on the second season started on April 16. While the show maintains a veil of secrecy, there have been some clues on what to expect for season two. In addition, in late April CBS teased the upcoming season with the release of a production announcement video (below).
CBS granted temporary restraining order against Shari Redstone
Shortly before the CBS presentation, the company received some good news from a courtroom in Delaware where a judge issued a short temporary restraining order against controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, preventing her from making any changes to the company’s board to force through a merger with Viacom.
With regards to CBS’ request to dilute Redstone’s controlling shares, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Chancellor Andre Bouchard “hasn’t made up his mind, but promises to do so by early Thursday before a planned meeting by the network’s board.” The temporary restraining order lasts only until Thursday morning “to protect jurisdiction and make sure nothing new happens.”
At the CBS Upfront’s, Moonves made an oblique joke about the legal drama the company has been in this week, saying to the crowd “So…how’s your week been?”
"So…how's your week been?" Moonves after getting a rare upfronts standing o. (Pretty sure these advertisers and buyers don't want the Redstones replacing him.) pic.twitter.com/W49GahzP7X
— Kate Aurthur (@KateAurthur) May 16, 2018
Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusively in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on Space and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.
Murphy Brown…..In Space?? Script writes itself.
Yes, all shows on CBS All Access take place in the Star Trek (non-Kelvin) universe.
Still consider SMG to be one of the Trek franchise’s greatest catches, and Michael Burnham to be among its most potentially fascinating (if problematic) characters. Hoping that the writers can up their game this season and give us a story that’s consistently worthy of both.
I totally concur with that statement and I have similar hopes as well.
Poor Shari
Wait are u sure they issued the restraining order? WSJ said they rejected CBS request.
Note this article is from yesterday. Yesterday afternoon the judge issued a temporary restraining order on CBS and Viacom, so he could think about the case overnight without any of the companies trying anything.
The temporary restraining order lasts only until Thursday morning “to protect jurisdiction and make sure nothing new happens.”
Then this morning he denied CBS’ request for a restraining order. Two different restraining orders, for two different reasons.
This stuff is getting really messy. There’s more corporate shenanigans expected to happen later today, so we’re planning on having a new article out later.
The latest from The Hollywood Reporter: “On Thursday, a judge in Delaware Chancery Court decided to reject CBS’ motion for a restraining order.” CBS’ stock dropped after the ruling.