Tag Archives: Rogers Media

Shomi Acquires Streaming Rights to Rodriguez’s “Jane the Virgin”

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Life is but a stream for Gina Rodriguez in the Great White North…

Canada’s Shomi has acquired the exclusive streaming rights to The CW‘s Jane the Virgin series, starring the 29-year-old Puerto Rican actress, in a deal that bypasses broadcast.

Gina Rodriguez in Jane the Virgin

The licensing agreement with CBS Studios International follows Shomi grabbing the first window rights to another CW show, Rob Thomas‘ iZombie, as part of a deal with Warner Bros.

“Once our exclusive period is up, the studio is free to license these titles for linear broadcast exhibitions on a second window, but no Canadian broadcaster will have these titles before us, or during our exclusive window,” Marni Shulman, head of content and programming at Shomi, told The Hollywood Reporter about the CBS distribution deal.

The Canadian streamer, a joint venture between Rogers Media and Shaw Media, launched last week as Canadian broadcasters compete against streaming goliath Netflix Canada. Shomi earlier agreed to a deal with Sony Pictures Television to acquire the exclusive streaming rights to The Blacklist, which landed on Netflix stateside as a first window.

Shomi is also streaming repeats of U.S. TV hit shows like 2 Broke Girls, Two and a Half Men, DaVinci’s Demons and Black Sails. It also has content deals signed with Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Starz Digital Media and BBC Worldwide North America.

It’s the latest international deal for Rodriguez’s critically acclaimed series.

Last month, CBS Studios International and U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 sealed the deal on a licensing agreement for the exclusive first window, free-to-air broadcast rights to new critically acclaimed comedy Jane the Virgin.

Longoria to Star in the Animated Series “Mother Up!”

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Eva Longoria has landed a mother of a role…

The 37-year-old Mexican American actress and former Desperate Housewives star has signed on to voice the character of Rudi Wilson, a former music exec turned hopeless suburban mom, in the animated series Mother Up! for Canadian broadcaster City and Hulu.

Eva Longoria II

“She’s a crazy, irresponsible mother, that all mothers fear they are,” Longoria tells The Hollywood Reporter about her character’s misguided, yet comedic child-rearing.

“She barely keeps her kids alive with bizarre, improvised solutions to the endless challenges of parenting,” she adds.

City and Hulu have ordered 13 episodes of the half-hour adult animated comedy series that Longoria will also executive produce.

The Canadian series was created by Michael Shipley (Family Guy, My Name is Earl), using original material from Marnie Nir and Katie Torpey.

“It is without a doubt an irreverent and edgy series, and yet still a network friendly show,” Claire Freeland, director of original programming at City-parent Rogers Media said of Mother Up!

City already has a primetime schedule heavy with popular American comedies like Modern Family and 2 Broke Girls, as well as a pipeline filled with homegrown sitcoms Seed and Package Deal.

Despite its motherhood storyline, Freeland added Mother Up! will appeal to both a female and male demo, given its variety of male characters.

The Canadian series also stars Jesse Camacho as the voice of Dick, Gabrielle Miller as Sarah, Cle Bennett as 2Bit, Helen Taylor as Jenny, Rebecca Husain as Apple and Scott McCord as Greg.

For Longoria, Mother Up! marks a return to television following starring roles in movies like The Baytown Outlaws, The Truth and more recently Michael Berry’s Frontera, following her final bow last season as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives.

The animated comedy also allows Longoria to bring her acting chops to a Toronto sound booth.

“I always find you have so much more freedom as an actor with your voice when you’re hiding behind an animated character, as opposed to live action,” she observes.

City plans a fall 2013 debut for Mother Up!