Ellen DeGeneres teaming with HBO Max for four new series
The roster for the upcoming streaming service HBO Max continues to grow bigger and bigger as Ellen DeGeneres (Finding Dory) has partnered with the WarnerMedia owned platform to develop four new original series for them, according to Deadline.
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The four series, entitled Ellen’s Home Design Challenge, First Dates Hotel, Finding Einstein and Little Ellen were announced by the star/comedian on her acclaimed talk show, humorously touting an oversized card to announce that every audience member was also being given a free two-year subscription to the forthcoming streaming service.
Home Design, Hotel and Einstein are all being produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television alongside Degeneres’ A Very Good Production, with A. Smith & Co. being attached to produce the first of the three.
“Ellen is a singular talent, and a powerhouse, creative triple-threat that we are lucky to have now bringing her talents to bear on behalf of HBO Max,” Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer, HBO Max and president, TNT, TBS, and truTV, said in a statement. “Ellen’s flair for home design and matchmaking will most certainly inspire and delight – but HBO Max is full service, so as not to leave the kids out she’s bringing them back to the hilarious misadventures of her childhood in an imaginative animated series.”
First Dates Hotel, a spinoff of the popular British Channel 4 series First Dates, will act as a matchmaking series set in an affluent boutique hotel in which single people from multiple generations gather for a romantic experience, and if the couples feel they like each other after the wild first dates, then they can choose to stay on the series for a second date in hopes of seeing if they are a match.
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Ellen’s Home Design Challenge will see the design aficionado put eight prospective designers to the test creatively, with DeGeneres acting as both a judge for the contestants and provide commentary for the group. Based around a seven-year-old Ellen, Little Ellen will be a 2D animated children’s series that sees her learn important lessons about life as she takes risks, makes mistakes and has fun on adventures in her hometown of New Orleans. The series will consist of 15 minute episodes and has already been ordered for 40 stories.
Finding Einstein will be a docuseries, endorsed and blessed by the Einstein estate, that will look for and celebrate a new generation of Einsteins. The official logline reads, “Some may be a stone’s throw away …others may be in a tiny village halfway around the world…all of them are motivated to live up to Einstein’s ideal of changing the world for the better.”
HBO Max is currently set to launch in spring 2020, with no premiere dates currently set for any of the four series.
(Photo Credit: Backgrid Images)
