After taking a $9.1 billion write-down on its linear networks business, in part due to the company’s loss of NBA rights, Warner Bros. Discovery is ramping up its investment in programming for TNT.
The cable network has greenlit “Debriefing the President” (working title), a four-hour miniseries about CIA analyst John Nixon’s 2003 interrogation of Saddam Hussein, in which he learned about the potential consequences of the invasion, the humanitarian horrors and geopolitical turbulences that would follow Saddam’s deposing.
The series is produced by AR Content and Big Dreams Entertainment for TNT. Alexander Rodnyansky, Joel Kinnaman, Stuart Manashil, Michael Kupisk, Peter Gerwe, Shelley Browning, and Leslie Greif serve as EPs, while Cristi Bostanescu and Eric Tomosunas serve as producers and Krzysztof Skonieczny directs.
TNT has also acquired “The Librarians: The Next Chapter,” a sequel to supernatural adventure series “The Librarians.” The project was initially set to lead The CW’s 2024-25 fall season.
Based on the original TNT television and film franchise and acquired from Electric Entertainment, the show centers on a “Librarian” from the past, who time traveled to the present and now finds himself stuck here. When he returns to his castle, which is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. He is given a new team to help him clean up the mess he made, forming a new team of Librarians.
“The Librarians: The Next Chapter” stars Callum McGowan (“Jamestown”), Jessica Green (“The Outpost”), Olivia Morris (“Hotel Portofino”) and Bluey Robinson (“Britannia”). Caroline Loncq (“Mammals”) guest stars. Christian Kane will reprise his role as “Jacob Stone” in a guest starring role.
The series is executive produced by showrunner Dean Devlin alongside Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson of Electric Entertainment. Noah Wyle, Electric Entertainment’s Mark Franco and Balkanic Media’s Jonathan Enligsh serve as producers.
Additionally, WBD plans to leverage its vast movie library to reboot several films into made-for-TV movies or series for TNT, an individual familiar with the matter tells TheWrap.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the moves.
The pivot comes as Channing Dungey will lead the U.S. Networks Division following Kathleen Finch’s retirement at the end of the year. The segment accounted for $5.27 billion of the company’s $9.7 billion in revenue reported during its second quarter of 2024.
The individual tells TheWrap that “The Librarians: The Next Chapter” acquisition and “Debriefing the President” greenlight were in the works under Finch.
It also comes as Warner is gearing up for affiliate carriage negotiations in 2025, with the loss of the NBA expected to impact their negotiating leverage. Currently, TNT gets approximately $3 per pay-TV subscriber – one of the most expensive networks to carry.
The company is suing the league in an effort to exercise its matching rights after a proposal to Amazon’s $1.8 billion per year package was ultimately rejected. In addition to the tech giant, the NBA extended its deal with Disney’s ESPN/ABC and struck a new agreement with NBCUniversal, which will all take effect in the 2025-2026 season. Outside of the NBA, Warner has the rights to NASCAR, the NHL, MLB and March Madness college basketball, and it recently acquired the U.S. rights to the French Open tennis tournament starting in 2025. WBD also struck a licensing agreement with ESPN for the College Football Playoff.
WBD shares, which jumped over 4% during Friday’s trading session, have fallen over 67% since the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger in April 2022.
