or


[11/15/13 - 12:03 PM]
Debmar-Mercury Sells the FremantleMedia North America-Produced "Celebrity Name Game," Hosted by Craig Ferguson, to Tribune Stations Covering 40% of U.S., Including Seven of the Top-10 Markets
WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles and WGN Chicago are among the participating stations for the fall 2014 launch.

[via press release from FremantleMedia North America]

DEBMAR-MERCURY SELLS THE FREMANTLEMEDIA NORTH AMERICA-PRODUCED "CELEBRITY NAME GAME," HOSTED BY CRAIG FERGUSON, TO TRIBUNE STATIONS COVERING 40% OF U.S., INCLUDING SEVEN OF THE TOP-10 MARKETS

U.S. Distributor Debmar-Mercury Provides Firm Fall 2014 Launch for Half-Hour Strip Developed by Courteney Cox & David Arquette's Coquette Productions and Veteran Showrunner Scott St. John

Los Angeles and New York, Nov. 15, 2013 - Debmar-Mercury has sold "Celebrity Name Game," a nationally syndicated pop culture game show hosted by "The Late, Late Show's" Craig Ferguson from co-producers FremantleMedia North America and Debmar-Mercury, to Tribune Broadcasting stations covering 40% of the U.S., including seven of the top-10 markets.

U.S. distributor Debmar-Mercury has provided a firm fall 2014 launch for the half-hour strip, which will air on Tribune stations including WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles and WGN Chicago.

"Combining Craig Ferguson's sharp wit with 'Celebrity Name Game's' fast-paced format makes this show a great fit to the existing lineup on our broadcast stations," said Sean Compton, President, Programming and Entertainment, Tribune Broadcasting and Larry Wert, President, Broadcast Media. "We look forward to partnering with Debmar-Mercury, FremantleMedia and Coquette Productions on this project as Tribune continues to add inventive first-run programming, specifically in access and early fringe."

Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, Co-Presidents of Lionsgate distributor Debmar-Mercury, added, "This huge commitment to 'Celebrity Name Game' from one of the premier broadcast groups in the country illustrates the tremendous value stations place in acquiring quality, compatible first-run programming that can play alongside off-network sitcoms in early fringe and access time periods. As we've proven with 'Family Feud,' stations are hungry for humor. With an exceptionally funny and popular host like Craig, a strong concept and Fremantle's extraordinary track record of producing hit game shows, that is exactly what we have with this show."

Thom Beers, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, commented, "We're thrilled to see Tribune come in with such a solid commitment to this series, showing how quickly they recognized the true magic of this show and every element within it from the uber-talented Craig Ferguson to the dynamically funny Courtney Cox and David Arquette. Together with Debmar-Mercury, we're excited to bring this entertaining series to audiences across the nation."

Courteney Cox and David Arquette's Coquette Productions ("Cougar Town") teamed with veteran showrunner Scott St. John ("Deal or No Deal"), as well as Laura Robinson and Richard Gerrits of North 44 Productions, to develop the fast-paced game show in which celebrities team with contestants to identify famous names, including actors, singers, athletes, pop culture figures, politicians and even cartoon characters.

The project marks the second collaboration between FremantleMedia North America ("Family Feud," "The Price is Right," "Let's Make a Deal," "American Idol," "The X Factor," "America's Got Talent") and Debmar-Mercury. "Family Feud", their first venture, has resulted in spectacular ratings success.

"Celebrity Name Game" is co-produced and co-financed by FremantleMedia North America and Debmar-Mercury, and is distributed domestically by Debmar-Mercury and internationally by FremantleMedia North America. Gerrits and Robinson will serve as producers of the series based on the board game Identity Crisis that they created. Executive Producers are showrunner Scott St. John, Thom Beers, Jennifer Mullin, Courteney Cox and David Arquette.

About FremantleMedia North America:

FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. arm of global media giant FremantleMedia, which includes a distribution arm, FremantleMedia International, a digital and branded entertainment division and a kids & family entertainment business. As the world's largest dependent studio, FremantleMedia's comprehensive global network has operations in 25 countries, creating over 9100 hours of programming a year, rolling out more than 60 formats and managing over 400 individual titles. FMNA and its portfolio of companies produce entertaining and innovative scripted and alternative programs for network, cable, syndicated and online platforms. Their slate includes a diverse range of both critically-acclaimed and award-winning successes including "American Idol" (FOX), "The X Factor" (FOX), "America's Got Talent" (NBC), "Family Feud" (SYN), "Let's Make A Deal" (CBS), "The Price Is Right" (CBS), "The Great Christmas Light Fight" (ABC), "The Tomorrow People" (The CW), "Deadliest Catch" (Discovery), "Married to Medicine" (Bravo), "Ice Road Truckers" (HISTORY), "Storage Wars" (A&E) and "The Pet Collective" (blip.tv), among others.

About Debmar-Mercury

Debmar-Mercury, a leading media company specializing in syndication, network, cable and ancillary markets, produces and distributes for daytime television The Wendy Williams Show and has U.S. distribution rights to Fremantle Media North America's Family Feud; distributes Tyler Perry sitcoms House of Payne and spinoff Meet the Browns; Lionsgate Television's Anger Management (starring Charlie Sheen and entering off-network syndication in September 2014), Saint George (starring and co-created by George Lopez, debuting in 2014 and in off-network syndication in September 2016) and a new untitled sitcom (starring comedy legends Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer, set to premiere in 2014 and entering broadcast syndication in fall 2017), all for FX; Revolution/CubeVision's Are We There Yet? (starring Ice Cube); and has U.S. TV distribution rights to South Park, Hell's Kitchen and a movie library featuring titles from Revolution Studios. Debmar-Mercury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company.

About Coquette Productions

Coquette Productions, founded by Courteney Cox and David Arquette, with development executive Thea Mann, is a television and film production company focusing on creating dynamic, original and entertaining content. Under a first-look deal with ABC Studios, Coquette has produced Cougar Town for ABC and TBS; Daisy Does America for TBS; Dirt for F/X and Mix it Up for WE. Additionally, Coquette has sold projects/filmed pilots for UPN, FOX, CBS, HBO, The Travel Channel, NBC, Lifetime, MTV and Comedy Central. Coquette has also produced the feature film Just Before I Go, directed by Courteney Cox.





  [november 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· CELEBRITY NAME GAME (SYNDICATION)





[10/08/26 - 03:32 PM]
CBS All-"NCIS" Tuesday Premieres +39% Higher Than Last Year
"NCIS," the series premiere of "NCIS: New York," and "NCIS: Origins" were the night's top three most-watched scripted broadcast programs.

[10/08/26 - 02:26 PM]
ABC News Wins in Late Night and Friday Night
"20/20: Home Alone" ranked as the Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 on Friday, October 2.

[10/08/26 - 02:01 PM]
HBO Orders New Drama Series "Crazy Rich Asians"
Based on the global bestselling books written by Kevin Kwan, the series will pick up after the events of the blockbuster film that became the highest-grossing Hollywood studio romantic comedy at the North American box office in nearly a decade.

[10/08/26 - 01:50 PM]
All the Marvel Television and Marvel Animation News from New York Comic Con 2026
Highlights include "Zodiac," a brand-new Marvel Television series that will debut on Disney+ in 2028.

[10/08/26 - 01:03 PM]
Video: "Apocalypse Z: New World" - Official Trailer - Prime Video
A rabies-like disease spreads across the planet, transforming people into aggressive creatures.

[10/08/26 - 11:25 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Leads Late Night with Live Shows from Brooklyn Academy of Music
The series topped late-night for the second week in a row this season, scoring 2.66 million Total Viewers and a 0.27 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/08/26 - 11:15 AM]
"Dexter: Resurrection" Surprises NYCC Fans with an Early Screening of Season Two Ahead of October 30 Premiere on Paramount+
The panel featured stars Michael C. Hall, Uma Thurman, James Remar, Jack Alcott, Bokeem Woodbine and Krysten Ritter, alongside showrunner and executive producer Clyde Phillips, executive producers Scott Reynolds and Marcos Siega, and surprise guest Eric Stonestreet.

[10/08/26 - 11:01 AM]
Jennifer Coolidge Returns for Season Two of "The Watcher"
Coolidge joins the previously announced returning cast: Naomi Watts (Nora Brannock), Bobby Cannavale (Dean Brannock), Margo Martindale (Maureen "Mo"), and Isabel Gravitt (Ellie Brannock).

[10/08/26 - 10:51 AM]
Lifetime Greenlights New Ripped from the Headlines Movie "The Girl Who Disappeared" (wt) Starring Jaime Pressly, Casey Deidrick and Alexa Blair
Based on a true story, the film follows a young woman whose romance with a married man sets off a dangerous chain of obsession, jealousy and betrayal.

[10/08/26 - 10:31 AM]
First Look & Date Announcement: Hulu's "The Land"
"The Land," from "Paradise" and "This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman, premieres on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the US, and Disney+ internationally on February 15.

[10/08/26 - 10:01 AM]
Video: "Grey's Anatomy" - Season 23 Official Trailer on ABC
New beginnings, complicated relationships and high-stakes emergencies await at Grey Sloan.

[10/08/26 - 10:00 AM]
The Soul Train Awards Nominees Are In, and Fans Decide the Winners in Two New Categories!
For the first time, fans will have a say in who takes home the trophies, with two new fan-voted categories: R&B/Soul Song of the Year, with voting on BET.com and Spotify's RNB X International Artist, with voting in the Spotify app.

[10/08/26 - 09:01 AM]
AspireTV to Premiere "A Memorable Christmas" Dec. 4
Asia'h Epperson, Mike Merrill, Kamel Goffin, and Stephen Cofield Jr. star in the movie.

[10/08/26 - 09:01 AM]
Prime Video Orders Untitled Karen Read Series from Justin Noble, Inspired by the Hit Law&Crime and Audible Original Podcast Series "Karen," Starring and Executive Produced by Four-Time Emmy Nominee Elizabeth Banks
The series follows the trial that captivated the country and turned Read into a household name.

[10/08/26 - 08:54 AM]
FOX Nation Set to Premiere "Houdini: Back from the Dead," Marking Platform's First Full-Length Project Created Entirely with AI-Generated Imagery
The new three-part series will premiere Wednesday, October 14.