English Entertainment
‘Doctor Who’ to air on FX from 15 May
MUMBAI: Come 15 May, and FX is all set to invade Indian television screens with one of the greatest science fiction series Doctor Who.
It may be recalled that Indiantelevision.com has reported last month that the channel was all set to launch the cult show in India.
Doctor Who will be aired every Monday to Friday at 9 pm on FX.
Produced by the BBC Wales, Doctor Whois the longest running sci-fi TV show in the world. A significant part of British popular culture, the iconic series follows the adventures of the Doctor, a Time Lord – a time-travelling humanoid alien. He explores the universe in his Tardis, a sentient time-travelling space ship. Along with a succession of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes while working to save civilizations and help people in need.
Doctor Who executive producer Brian Minchin says, “We are delighted that Doctor Who is going to hit the screens of FX. We’re hugely proud of the show and the Doctor’s adventures in time and space. Hold on tight – there are thrills and wonders ahead! 51 years ago, the very first episode of Doctor Who was directed by Waris Hussein, born in Lucknow. I like to think we’ve finally come full circle with the new modern series launching in India on FX.”
Doctor Who has a phenomenal following millions fans across the globe winning 98 television awards. Until 2015, the series even holds the Guinness World Record for the largest simulcast of a TV drama – 98 countries across six continents. Over the recent years, Doctor Who has won over five million fans on Facebook, 1.2 million followers on Twitter, and in November 2014, the YouTube channel bagged a new subscriber every 41 seconds.
To give the show an apt promotional platform, FX has created an integrated marketing campaign reiterating the channel’s tagline- The Edge of Entertainment. Reaching out to all the ‘edge seekers’, FX India has also made a music video complete with original composition, zany graphics and footage that has been specially created to announce the show’s launch and the impending arrival of the Doctor.
Commenting on the cult fan-following and Doctor Who’s travel to India, an official spokesperson from Star India said, “We are very excited to be associating with BBC and bringing a cult show such as Doctor Who to Indian audiences. The show has garnered tremendous popularity internationally, and we believe that the unique concept along with a strong integrated marketing campaign at FX will make it big in India too. We are already receiving a great response from fans post the announcement, and anticipate much more.”
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
