Latest in Smithsonian Channel

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Global is cutting back the Smithsonian Channel’s New York Hub as more details about the U.S. layoffs emerge. Staff at the channel’s New York office were told mid-last week, we understand, and third-party producers were subsequently informed that most of their shows will now be…

EXCLUSIVE: A documentary about President Barack and Mrs. Michelle Obama's portraits commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery is being drawn up by Smithsonian Channel. The Paramount Global-owned cabler is launching Picturing the Obamas on September 10 – three days after the unveiling of the White House portraits…

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4-backed Two Rivers Media, a major player in the Scottish TV production game, has bought back its stake from initial backer Noble Grossart, the merchant bank. CEO Alan Clements has taken a majority share. Noble supported Two Rivers with an undisclosed investment when the indie was launched in 2019…

EXCLUSIVE: James F. Blue III is leaving Paramount Global after a year and a half as SVP and Head of Smithsonian Channel. He just informed his staff of his decision in an internal memo (You can read it below). Blue did not specify what his plans for the future are but, according to sources, the former PBS NewsHour and N…

EXCLUSIVE: Smithsonian Channel has landed itself a top gun. Jay Ellis, who plays Lieutenant Reuben Fitch in the Tom Cruise hit Top Gun: Maverick, has signed on to host the second season of the Paramount Global-owned network's unscripted series How Did They Build That? The ten-part series explores some of the most…

EXCLUSIVE: Warrior Women With Lupita Nyong'o, a documentary about a forgotten female army, is heading to Smithsonian Channel. The Paramount Global-owned cable network will launch the doc, which was originally commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK, in the U.S. on Monday March 28. It will also air on its network in Latin…

EXCLUSIVE: The Smithsonian Channel and Oprah Winfrey‘s Harpo Productions are partnering on The Color of Care, a new documentary that chronicles how people of color suffer from systemically substandard healthcare in the United States and how Covid-19 exposed the tragic consequences of these inequities. The project…

Dan Sefton To Adapt Ex-Genesis Drummer’s Novel For TV Mallorca Files creator Dan Sefton is to adapt the story of ex-Genesis drummer Chris Stewart’s life for TV. Based on Stewart’s novel Driving Over Lemons, Sefton, along with a team including Simon Lupton, Nick Leese, Alvaro Alonso and Manuel Yebra, will turn the…

The Earl of Grantham Hugh Bonneville is narrating two wildlife series for Smithsonian Channel. The Downton Abbey star is leading Wild Tales from the Farm and The Crown's Ancient Forest, which will air as part of the ViacomCBS' network's Wild Wednesdays lineup. Wild Tales from the Farm, which premieres on November 3…

ViacomCBS’ Smithsonian Channel is prepping One Thousand Years of Slavery, a four-part docu-series from Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s Bassett Vance Productions. BAFTA-winning British-Nigerian director David Olusoga explores stories of survival and devastation that span across the globe – from Africa to the…

EXCLUSIVE: There's more change at the top of the Smithsonian Networks. David Royle, Executive Vice President, Programming and Production, is leaving the company after 14 years. Deadline understands that Royle, a well-known figure in the international factual world, will be leaving in the new year. He is set to pursue…

ViacomCBS' MTV Entertainment Group (formerly Entertainment & Youth) has named PBS NewsHour and former Nightline producer James F. Blue III as SVP, Head of Smithsonian Channel. Blue will also oversee News and Factual Unscripted content for MTV Entertainment's portfolio of brands across streaming, linear and digital…