CBS is adjusting to Paramount's recent billion-dollar merger with Skydance.
Last week, Skydance Media and Paramount Global confirmed the completion of their merger, which was initially announced last year, with David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount, sharing in a statement: "Today marks an exciting and pivotal moment as we prepare to bring Paramount's legacy as a Hollywood institution into the future of entertainment. My vision is to honor exceptional storytelling while modernizing how we make and deliver content to support the world's top creative talent, enhance experiences for audiences worldwide, and create sustainable value for our shareholders."
That leaves the entertainment giant with two major TV studio units: the existing CBS Studios, which will be led by David Stapf and overseen by Paramount Chair of TV Media George Cheeks, and the newly formed Paramount TV Studios, headed by former Skydance TV President Matt Thunell and overseen by Dana Goldberg, Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Chair of Paramount Television.
With that, the production and streaming fate of some of your favorite shows has officially been determined.
Deadline confirmed this week that Reacher, starring Alan Ritchson, alongside its spinoff, Neagley, as well as Prime Video's Cross, will be moving production from CBS Studios to the new Paramount TV Studios (PTVS).
All three shows had previously been co-productions between Skydance TV and CBS Studios for the last year, but will now all fall under the PTVS umbrella with other streaming TV shows that don't air on Paramount+, the outlet reports.
So going forward, a new studio will be in charge of the show — the same studio handles AppleTV+'s Foundation, Netflix's Emily in Paris, and Showtime's new Dexter spin-off Dexter: Resurrection, as well as Taylor Sheridan's shows for Paramount+ — but it shouldn't be a noticeable change for audiences.
Per Deadline, PTVS, which combines the assets of Skydance Television and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, will be focused primarily on streaming series for Paramount+.
Meanwhile, CBS Studios' primary focus will continue to be supplying the CBS broadcast network, while still being able to do streaming series for Paramount+ and outside streamers when an opportunity presents itself, especially extensions of existing franchises like the forthcoming NCIS spin-off NCIS: Tony & Ziva, coming up on Paramount+.
The fourth season of Reacher, which will be based on the 2009 Lee Child novel Gone Tomorrow, the thirteenth book in the Jack Reacher book series, is already in production, and recent photos from filming the fourth installment have given us the first glimpse at Alan's newest on-screen love interest, who is played by Sydelle Noel.
The actress, best known for her role in GLOW, will star as homicide detective Tamara Green, Jack's love interest, per ScreenRant, as well as a partner to fellow newcomer Kevin Corrigan's character Detective Docherty.
In addition to Sydelle and Kevin, the forthcoming season is also welcoming Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette (Barry), Indonesian singer-actress Agnez Mo (Pernikahan), and Indonesian-French singer Anggun (Levitating) as series regulars as well as Kevin Weisman (Marvel’s Runaways), Marc Blucas (My Life with the Walter Boys), and Kathleen Robertson (The Expanse) as recurring guest stars, per Deadline.