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Greg Berlanti has Signed a New Overall Deal with Warner Bros. TV Group

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Greg Berlanti

Warner Bros. Television Group and Greg Berlanti have announced that the prolific Emmy, Writers Guild, Producers Guild, and Directors Guild Award–nominated writer/producer/director has signed a new overall deal with the Studio. The exclusive multiyear agreement ensures that Berlanti Productions will remain based at Warner Bros. for its television operations into the year 2027. Financial terms were not disclosed, per company practice.

Under the terms of the deal, Berlanti Productions will continue to develop new television programming to be produced by divisions of the Warner Bros. Television Group for all platforms, including Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max, external streaming services, cable, and the broadcast networks.

The new pact continues a highly successful relationship between Berlanti Productions and WBTVG that dates back, over two stints, to 2001 and has been renewed multiple times. Greg Berlanti has produced or created more than 40 shows in the last 20 years, with more than 1,300 hours of television under his belt. During the 2019–20 season, he had 20 shows on the air or in production at once, taking over five nights of the week over six different networks and streamers. His company, Berlanti Productions, currently has upwards of 15 shows on the air or shooting.

Berlanti Productions’ The Flight Attendant has received a dozen Emmy nominations. Berlanti also co-created the incredibly successful series You, with season three staying at Netflix’s number one spot for three consecutive weeks. Numerous Berlanti Productions series such as All American and All American: Homecoming have held spots on Netflix’s top 10 list for over 15 weeks.

Berlanti was behind DC’s successful live-action shared television universe in the last decade, starring key comic book characters like The Flash, Superman, Green Arrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman on The CW. This successful 38-season (and counting) run across the shows broke numerous ratings records for the network. In addition, Berlanti started a second DC universe with critically acclaimed hits Titans, Doom Patrol, and DC’s Stargirl, and is set to launch the upcoming new series Dead Boy Detectives for HBO Max this year.

Throughout his career, Berlanti has been a prominent leader and voice for inclusion in the entertainment industry, both on screen and off camera. In 2022, he received the Norman Lear Achievement from the Producers Guild of America for his career accomplishments and impact on the art and craft of television. Berlanti also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year.

For Berlanti Productions, Sarah Schechter continues to serve as Partner and Chairwoman of the company alongside Greg, as well as for Berlanti/Schechter Films.

Additionally, Leigh London Redman serves as President of Berlanti Productions, overseeing television.

Channing Dungey Named Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group

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CHANNING DUNGEY

Channing Dungey has been named Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group starting her tenure at the Studio early next year. Dungey will report to Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group. Dungey will succeed Peter Roth who will be stepping down from his Studio responsibilities running the TV Group and its operating divisions in early 2021.

Warner Bros. Television Group is part of WarnerMedia’s new Studios and Networks Group which aligns the Company’s content-focused teams, bringing together the WB Pictures Group, HBO and HBO Max, WBTV, DC, kids/young adults/classics (Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, TCM, Cartoon Network Studios, WB Animation), TBS, TNT, TruTV, Wizarding World, consumer products, experiences, and gaming, and offers the unique opportunity for these divisions to work together across titles, brands and franchises. The Studios and Networks Group represents an unmatched collection of world-class brands and content creators.

Dungey most recently served as Vice President of Original Series at Netflix. During that time, she played a part in bringing David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to Netflix, as well as championing a number of new overall producing deals with talent, including Regina King, Mara Brock Akil, Bill Prady, Michael Green, and Gina Rodriguez.  She shepherded such high-profile series as Self Made: Inspired By The Life of Madam CJ Walker, starring Octavia Spencer, the Hilary Swank starrer Away, and two eagerly anticipated series from prolific Shonda Rhimes: the romantic period drama Bridgerton, and a yet-to-be-titled series inspired by the life of real-life conwoman Anna Delvey. She was also involved in the acquisition of Darren Starr’s series Emily In Paris, which recently debuted on the service. 

Prior to that, she served as president of ABC Entertainment, overseeing all development, programming, marketing and scheduling operations for ABC primetime and late-night. During her tenure, she shepherded a wide variety of successful programming, including the hit drama The Good Doctor, and the successful return of American Idol. ABC was the most social network on air under her leadership, raising platforms for series such as black-ish, How to Get Away with Murder and The Goldbergs, and helping reinvigorate long-running series such as Grey’s Anatomy.

Dungey joined the network’s drama development department in June 2009, during which time she developed and launched such hit series as Scandal, Quantico, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., American Crime and Once Upon a Time. Prior to that, she oversaw development and acquisition of drama programming for ABC Studios, where her slate included Shondaland’s Private Practice, and CBS’s long-running drama Criminal Minds, among many others.

Dungey’s experience in entertainment spans both television and film. She partnered with Pamela Post, and formed Dexterity Pictures, a production partnership focused on making both studio and independent films, as well as developing television series. She also served as president of Material, a film production company with a first-look deal at Warner Bros. Prior to that, she served for five years as a Warner Bros. production executive, helping to develop and supervise a diverse range of commercially successful, critically acclaimed films.

Dungey, who graduated magna cum laude from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, has been a visiting professor at the school and serves on the school’s Executive Board. She is also a founding and current board member of Step Up, and a board member of Children’s Institute. Dungey is a Los Angeles member of BAFTA and serves on the Motion Picture Television Foundation Board of Governors.

SDCC 2019: Warner Bros. Reveals the SDCC Official Bags

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Soar through San Diego Comic-Con 2019 with Gotham City’s new vigilante on your back, arm yourself with arrows, or go forth with Archie and the gang! Warner Bros. Television Group celebrates its 10th year as the official bag sponsor of Comic-Con with 23 new designs. The collectible carriers have you covered as you stash your swag in the exclusive accessory.

The SDCC bags, produced for the Studio by I.D. Me Promotions, will feature the following titles:

  • Warner Bros. Television series Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, Doom Patrol, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Pennyworth, Riverdale, The Flash, Supergirl, Supernatural and Titans
  • Warner Bros. Animation’s DC Super Hero Girls, Harley Quinn, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Teen Titans GO!, ThunderCats Roar and Young Justice: Outsiders
  • HBO’s Game of Thrones and two versions of Watchmen
  • Plus bags for the DC UNIVERSE digital service, Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe The Movie, and Conan

DC in D.C. for MLK Weekend 2018

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Get ready for “DC in D.C.” During the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, Warner Bros. Television Group, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will team up for “DC in D.C.,” a landmark pop culture event that brings together the worlds of entertainment and public service to illuminate the story of America and current issues through the lens of comics and Super Heroes. Events will take place Friday, January 12, and Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Newseum, and will culminate with the world premiere screening of the upcoming DC series Black Lightning — based on the first African-American DC Super Hero to have his own stand-alone comic title — in the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, with a party to follow at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“DC in D.C.” brings together stars and producers from Warner Bros. Television’s DCTV series, as well as comic book writers and artists from DC Entertainment, who will join invited guests from politics, government service, entertainment, business, academia and more. The event will explore the intersection of comic books, culture, entertainment and enlightenment through a series of panel discussions open to the public. Additionally, “DC in D.C.” will present the premiere screening of the DC Universe animated movie Batman: Gotham By Gaslight (for ages 18+) at the Newseum.

Scheduled participants include:

  • The stars of Black Lightning — Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Damon Gupton and James Remar — along with executive producers Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil
  • Executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, Black Lightning, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl, upcoming Titans) plus television series stars Caity Lotz (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Candice Patton (The Flash), Danielle Panabaker(The Flash), J.W. Cortes (Gotham), Russell Tovey (Freedom Fighters: The Ray) and others to be announced.
  • DC comic book writers and artists such as DC Entertainment’s Jim Lee, Julie Benson, Shawna Benson, Shea Fontana, Agnes Garbowska, Tom King, Steve Orlando, Alice Randall, Oscar®-winning screenwriter John Ridley, Mark Russell, Mariko Tamaki and DC Entertainment’s Geoff Johns, the best-selling author of Rebirth and Doomsday Clock.
  • Luminaries from media, politics and government service
  • And more to be announced…

Highlights of the “DC in D.C.” event schedule include:

  • Stars and producers from WBTV’s DC series Arrow, Black Lightning, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Gotham, Supergirl and Freedom Fighters: The Ray join comic book authors and artists from DC Entertainment for panel discussions and appearances that are open to the general public. Additional information about tickets for the five public panels will be released at www.DCinDC2018.com.
  • Private, invitation-only world premiere of upcoming DCTV drama series Black Lightning, which debuts Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 9/8c on The CW.
  • Public sneak peek screening of Black Lightning, as well as the premiere screening of DC Universe animated movie Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, coming to Digital on January 23, 2018, and Blu-ray™/DVD on February 6, 2018, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

“DC IN D.C.” EVENTS SCHEDULE — PLEASE NOTE: Participants are subject to change

FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 — NEWSEUM

BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT PREMIERE SCREENING (18+)

6:30–9:15 p.m. Batman: Gotham By Gaslight Premiere Screening (For Mature Audiences 18+ Years of Age) — Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment provide a new take on Batman as a steampunk Dark Knight hunts Jack the Ripper through the shadows of turn of the century Gotham City in this all-new animated feature available from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment January 23, 2018, on Digital and February 6, 2018, on Blu-ray and DVD. The premiere event is for mature audiences 18 years of age or older, will kick off with a cocktail reception and will be followed with a Q&A session with the film’s voice cast and producers.  Newseum Theatre

Inspired by the landmark one-shot Elseworlds tale by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight takes place at the turn of the century as America’s continued industrial revolution is to be showcased at a World’s Fair hosted by Gotham City. But while the world prepares to witness the glittery glory of Gotham’s technological advances, there is a killer loose in the city’s darkest shadows. Preying on the city’s women, this killer is as precise as he is cruel. As Police Commissioner James Gordon (Scott Patterson – Gilmore Girls) tries to calm the fears of Gotham’s citizens regarding the butcher called Jack the Ripper, the masked vigilante Batman (Bruce Greenwood – American Crime Story) indulges in his own detective work — with the help of confident, capable Selina Kyle (Jennifer Carpenter – Dexter) — to stop the Ripper’s murderous spree. Witness a world in flames as the notorious serial killer’s controlled savagery meets the calculated stealth of the Dark Knight. Sam Register, Bruce Timm (Batman: The Killing Joke), Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan are executive producers.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 — NEWSEUM

10:00–10:45 a.m. The Art of the Matter: From Sketch to Screen — Just how do our favorite DC Super Heroes fly from the page to the screen? This behind-the-scenes look at the creative process provides an “origin story” of how some of DC’s greatest Super Heroes on the page have evolved into some of TV’s hottest Super Heroes on screens all over the world. Join executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, Black Lightning, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl, upcoming Titans), DC Entertainment’s Geoff Johns (Arrow, The Flash, Titans) and others as they trace the explosion of DC’s heroes — from ink panels to television and film screens worldwide. Additional panelists to be announced.  Newseum

11:00–11:45 a.m. The Many Shades of Heroism: DC Heroes Through the African-American Lens — 2018 will not only bring Black Lightning, a new African-American DC Super Hero to television screens (40 years after the electrifying hero was created), but also a new DC comic book from Oscar®-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and more exciting storytelling featuring African-American characters. In this panel, Black Lightning star Cress Williams and executive producers Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil will join the acclaimed John Ridley, author and comic book writer Alice Randall (The Wind Done Gone, Earth M), and Black Girl Nerds Editor-in-Chief Jamie Broadnax as they look beyond the super suit to the African-American men and women who are heroes to their community. Black Lightning premieres Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 9/8c on The CW. Follow Black Lightning on Twitter at @blacklightning. Additional panelists to be announced.  Newseum

12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m. Wonder Women — DC and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Wonder Woman took charge of screens in an unprecedented way last summer, toppling the cinematic patriarchy and paving the way for even more super women. DC has been flexing its power with female heroes on television screens for years, including kickass characters on Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Gotham and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Join DC’s Legends of Tomorrow star Caity Lotz, The Flash stars Candice Pattonand Danielle Panabaker, Berlanti Productions President Sarah Schechter (Arrow, Black Lightning, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl, upcoming Titans) plus DC writers and artists Julie Benson(Batgirl and the Birds of Prey), Shawna Benson (Batgirl and the Birds of Prey), Shea Fontana (Wonder Woman, DC Super Heroes), Agnes Garbowska (DC Super Hero Girls) and Mariko Tamaki (Supergirl: Being Super) for this super-powered panel. Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will rotate through The CW’s Monday 8/7c time period in 2018, offering fans 23 consecutive weeks of original episodes. Supergirl returns January 15 for four original episodes, after which DC’s Legends of Tomorrow runs from February 12–April 9. Supergirl then resumes April 16–June 18. Additional panelists to be announced.  Newseum

2:00–2:45 p.m. The Pride of DC: The Art of LGBTQ Inclusion — On December 8, history was made with the debut of Freedom Fighters: The Ray, a new animated series on CW Seed, the digital channel of The CW Network, that features the first gay Super Hero to lead a show. The series is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation and Blue Ribbon Content, the digital studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group. Join The Ray executive producer Greg Berlanti and voice star Russell Tovey for a wide-ranging discussion with DC writers Marguerite Bennett (Batwoman), Steve Orlando (Midnighter and Apollo) and Mark Russell (Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles) about inclusion for LGBTQ characters. Watch Freedom Fighters: The Ray here: www.cwseed.com/freedom-fighters-the-ray. Additional panelists to be announced.  Newseum

3:00–3:45 p.m. The Aftermath: Battle & Trauma in Comics — DC’s Batman author and former CIA counter-terrorism operations officer Tom King takes on Jack Kirby’s Mister Miracle in a new monthly comic book which focuses on a Super Hero who grapples with post-traumatic stress disorder, an issue not often seen in comics and tragically overlooked in the real world. King will be joined by Gothamrecurring guest star J.W. Cortes (a 13-year Marine combat veteran and a police officer with New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority), additional comic book writer/artists and thought leaders for a candid conversation about the lasting effects of battlefield trauma. Additional panelists to be announced.  Newseum

6:30–8:15 p.m. Black Lightning Sneak Peek Screening — Cress Williams (Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights) stars as the title character in Black Lightning, a new television series based on the first African-American DC Super Hero to have his own stand-alone comic title. The series debuts Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 9/8c on The CW, but fans can get a sneak peek during this public screening at the Newseum, preceded by a reception. In addition to Williams, China Anne McClain (House of Payne), Nafessa Williams (Twin Peaks), Christine Adams (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Marvin “Krondon” Jones III (Harry’s Law), Damon Gupton (Bates Motel, Criminal Minds) and James Remar (Gotham, Sex and the City) star. Based on the characters from DC, Black Lightning is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl), Salim & Mara Brock Akil (Being Mary Jane, The Game, Girlfriends), and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl). The Black Lightning character was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden.  Newseum

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13

BLACK LIGHTNING WORLD PREMIERE — BY INVITATION ONLY

SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, AND NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

Black Lightning Red Carpet Arrivals, Cocktail Reception, World Premiere Screening and Q&A — Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History – Warner Bros. Theater

Black Lightning Premiere Party — Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

Directly following the screening, series stars Cress Williams (Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights), China Anne McClain (House of Payne), Nafessa Williams (Twin Peaks), Christine Adams (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Marvin “Krondon” Jones III (Harry’s Law), Damon Gupton (Bates Motel, Criminal Minds) and James Remar (Gotham, Sex and the City) will join executive producers Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil (Being Mary Jane, The Game, Girlfriends) for an electrifying Q&A session about the series and its upcoming first season.

Immediately following the Q&A, guests are invited to Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for the Black Lightning premiere party.

Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.

Based on the characters from DC, Black Lightning is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl), Salim & Mara Brock Akil, and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl). The Black Lightning character was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden. Black Lightning premieres Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 9/8c on The CWBecome a fan of Black Lighting on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CWBlackLightning, and follow the show on Twitter @BlackLightning.