Aşk-ı Memnu: Telemundo's Forbidden Passion From The Beginning

Forbidden Passion (Pasion Prohibida) is a 2012 soap opera produced by Telemundo Studios that told the story of a woman's scorn over her mother after discovering that her she cheated on her father prior to his death so she married the man she chased after there she falls for his nephew.

It starred Monica Spear and Jencarlos Canela alongside Roberto Vander, Mercedes Molto, Rebecca Jones, Henry Zakka, Jorge Consejo and Carmen Aub.

The original produced by Ay Yapım (Turkey) went a similar path with the likes of Beren Saat, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, Selçuk Yöntem, Hazal Kaya & Nebahat Çehre which was set in the contemporary Istanbul instead of the 19th century setting as seen in Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil's 1899 novel of the same name.

Everyday Novelas:
- Forbidden Passion season 2 not moving forward on Telemundo
- Between You And Me now on Zee One
- Eternal Love coming soon to Star Life

Aside from Aşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love), Ay Yapım also worked on other productions part of which has already viewed in South Africa such as Fenix (Alev Alev), Impak (Çarpışma), Stiletto Vendetta (Ufak Tefek Cinayetler) and Die Put (Çukur).

Aşk-ı Memnu was broadcast between 2008 to 2010 with a total of 2 seasons and 79 episodes on Kanal D. It pulled 10 million viewers during its premiere with a further 20 million added within the second season proving to be a success for the network.

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- Lord Of The Skies renewed for season 8

Sources on IDMB gave it a perfect score and Aşk-ı Memnu was considered one of a kind for the music, storyline and characters. It even walked away with 8 award winners most of which were for Beren Saat and Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ alongside the series.

Aşk-ı Memnu has been viewed in various territories including America, Ethiopia, Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, China and several others.

Since it's debut, a number of adaptations have already been filmed with Pasion Prohibida on Telemundo in America, followed by Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara on StarPlus with the latest version Fructul Oprit on Antenna 1 in Romania proven to be the most controversial of instalments.

Recap: Forbidden Passion Season 2 Was Scrapped Due To Monica Spear's Passing

Forbidden Passion is a 2012 drama series produced by Telemundo Studios that followed the long road love story of Bianca and Bruno. I don't want to spoil it or give too much basically the female lead got involved with her lover's uncle.

Based on the 2008 Turkish drama Aşk-ı Memnu which derives from the novel of the same name. It starred Monica Spear and Jencarlos Canela alongside Roberto Vander, Mercedes Molto, Rebecca Jones, Henry Zakka, Jorge Consejo and Carmen Aub.

From what a certain deleted article mentioned before passing, the series was renewed for a second season and some of the cast were to set to reprise their roles including Monica Spear and the part in bold shouldn't be read if you haven't watched the show.

Everyday Novelas:
- Between You And Me now on Zee One
- Eternal Love coming soon to Star Life
- Fearless Heart coming soon to Telemundo

The second season would have seen the revival of Bianca after she committed suicide on her ex lover's wedding which never happened following her passing. Basically, the network loves to revive characters that were reported dead but who cares we got Lord Of The Skies S8.

Now the reason a second season ended up being scrapped with no chance of it in the coming future I mean I wouldn't be shocked if it was rebooted had to do with the unfortunate passing of Monica Spear with Forbidden Passion being her last project.

For those who weren't aware of the whole matter it goes as follows:

Monica Spear, 29, a soap opera actress, and Thomas Berry, 39, died after being attacked when their car broke down at night on a highway in central Venezuela in January.

Their daughter, Maya Berry Spear, suffered a leg injury but was in a stable condition after the attack that put a spotlight on the country's soaring murder rate.

The three men confessed to their involvement in the murder, the public prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Jean Carlos Colina, 19, got a 26-year sentence, while Jose Ferreira Herrera, 18, and Nelfrend Jimenez Alvarez, 21, were jailed for 24 years, the statement said.

Telemundo:
- Nurses returns for a season 3
- Prediction: what to expect on Telemundo in 2023?
- Lord Of The Skies renewed for season 8

What happened to little Maya?

14-year-old Maya Berry Spear, daughter of Monica Spear, was legally adopted by the brother of the remembered former beauty queen Ricardo Spear and his partner, actress Daniela Bueno, who signed the papers in August this year.

Let us remember that since Monica's tragic death, those who were in charge of little Maya were her maternal grandparents, Rafael Spear and Inge Mootz, but she always grew up surrounded by the love of all her family, especially her uncles.

"I witnessed how he was busy, at the time from his role as an uncle, to give her values and fill her with love." Ricardo has a generous heart and has always been very protective and loving with her. We knew it came with a huge responsibility, however, we took on it and today we are happy about the decisions we made. "Our family is built from will and this bond is forever," Daniela told People in Spanish.

How do you think Forbidden Passions season 2 would have turned out had it finished production?

Vince McMahon Reportedly Looking Into Returning To WWE In Order To Sell It

He left control of the WWE to his daughter Stephanie and son in law Triple H, real name Paul Levesque, a wrestling legend himself.

But now, according to Wall Street Journal, McMahon is looking to make a WWE comeback in order to help sell the sports entertainment giant.

He still has majority voting power through his ownership of WWE’s Class-B stock and is believed to have informed staff of his plans to return.

McMahon is said to have told the company he is electing himself and two former co-presidents and directors, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, to the board.

Superhero:
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But the move to reinstate him, something the board previously rebuffed, and the others will require three current directors to vacate their positions.

Rumours of a sell have swirled for years despite the WWE receiving a $1BILLION cash injection after selling US rights to the WWE Network to Peacock.

McMahon decided to leave the WWE last summer following a series of scandals.

There were claims he paid an ex-employee $3million to stay quiet about an affair.

The probe began in April 2022, finding non-disclosure agreements involving claims made by female ex-WWE employees of misconduct by McMahon and John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations.

WWE:
- Could the WWE channel be exiting the DStv platform?
- NXT Europe to rollout later in the year
- The controversial history of The Fabulous Moolah

The WWE put out a statement on confirming McMahon "voluntarily stepped back from his responsibilities" within the company.

The American bought Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the holding company that owned the then-World Wrestling Federation from his father, Vincent J McMahon, in 1982.

He expanded the company during the pro-wrestling boom in the 1980s and over the years, WWE has cited McMahon as the key to the company's success.

It has seen them rocket to the top of pro wrestling, a position they have maintained throughout their existence.

Kartoon Channel's Parent Company Acquire 50% Ownership in Select Content and Consumer Products From Genius Brands’ Frederator Network

Genius Brands International, Inc., through its WOW! Unlimited Media subsidiary, Frederator Network, today announced it has completed a deal with TOHO International, a subsidiary of one of the largest media companies in Japan, whereby TOHO International is making a multimillion-dollar investment to acquire a 50% stake in two of the Company’s original productions, the critically-acclaimed series, Bee and PuppyCat, following its successful launch on Netflix, Frederator’s pop culture phenomenon Bravest Warriors, and the upcoming series Catbug, based on the popular character created in the Bravest Warriors’ series.

The deal provides a framework for Genius Brands’ Frederator Network and TOHO International to co-produce new content for the properties and cooperatively develop a global consumer products campaign. Genius Brands will oversee global distribution and consumer products development for the properties, excluding Asia, which will be handled by TOHO International. Additionally, a dedicated online store for Bee and PuppyCat launched in September 2022, to coincide with the series release on Netflix.

Genius Brands’ consumer products’ team will develop a consumer products retail program for Bravest Warriors, Bee and PuppyCat and Catbug, excluding Asia, which will be handled by TOHO International.

Regular Nick:
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- Predictions: Nicktoons and Boomerang's untimely demise
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Michael Hirsh, CEO of WOW! Unlimited Media, parent company of Frederator Network, stated: “Demand for quality animated content is greater than ever, and yet we recognize the importance of delivering productions that can stand out and provide enduring value. As illustration, I’m proud to report that the LA Times recently voted Bee and PuppyCat as one of the “20 shows our TV experts are most excited to watch this fall.” In fact, the sneak peek trailer of Bee and PuppyCat achieved over 2 million views within 24 hours and has successfully launched on Netflix. At Frederator, our mission is to foster the creativity of content creators and give them a platform to get their projects seen. We are thrilled that our productions, Bravest Warriors, Bee and PuppyCat and Catbug, are now attracting a global audience. Our partnership with Toho will allow us to further expand the reach of these two series, both in terms of distribution and upcoming consumer products.”

Hiro Matsuoka, President of Toho Co., Ltd, commented: “This new deal aligns with our long-term strategy, as we build a more effective system for distribution and licensing of our own IP. We have seen the tremendous global popularity of Bravest Warriors and the growth of Bee and PuppyCat, as well as the growing popularity of Catbug along with the overall Western Anime genre. With our production resources and distribution capabilities across Asia, complementing Genius Brands and Frederators’ expansive network in key markets around the world, we anticipate these two properties will continue to develop a global fan base as we introduce new content and merchandise.”

Andy Heyward, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genius Brands, commented: “This transaction is a huge privilege for us at Genius Brands to now partner with the pre-eminent media company in Japan, and their visionary management. We believe it is a further validation of our strategic acquisition of WOW! Unlimited Media and their impressive portfolio of original content, which we can then migrate to the streamers, our own Kartoon Channel,! and media platforms around the world.”

From its start as a 2-part, 10-minute short on Frederator Networks that became an immediate hit amassing millions of views on YouTube, to a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign to launch the new Bee and PuppyCat series on Netflix, fans and critics have driven the breakout success of Bee and PuppyCat, with over 2.5M fans across all social channels. Created by Natasha Allegri (“Adventure Time”) and produced by Frederator Network (“Adventure Time” and “Castlevania”), the series’ first full season premiered on September 6 as a Netflix series. Bee and PuppyCat follows a twenty-something temp worker named Bee and her mysterious companion PuppyCat as the two travel on fantastic adventures across space while taking on various intergalactic odd jobs to help make rent.

Insidus Games:
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- The Wild Thornberrys: Chimp Chase

Created by Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time) and headed by showrunner Breehn Burns, Bravest Warriors tells the story of four teenage heroes-for-hire in the year 3085, as they warp through the universe to save adorable aliens and their worlds using the power of their emotions. Launched on YouTube in November 2012, the series rapidly grew an impressive and dedicated online fan base earning 250 million views, three million likes, and over a billion minutes watched. Bravest Warriors was the 2013 Shorty Award winner for Best Web Show and the Online Film and Video (Animation) Honoree at The Webby Awards in 2015.

The Catbug character was created by Breehn Burns and featured in the Frederator Network’s digital series Bravest Warriors. Catbug is growing rapidly into a viral, pop cultural phenomenon across social media platforms--YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—with videos featuring Catbug achieving over 200 million views to date and counting. Additionally, over 200 million GIFs have been created for Catbug on Giphy.

Moonbug’s Revenues Grew 148% In 2021

Moonbug Entertainment has become one of the biggest players in children’s music and YouTube videos, having rolled up brands including CoComelon, Little Baby Bum and Blippi.

Newly-published financial results reveal that its business grew strongly in 2021, with revenues growing 148% to £110.2m (which would have been around $149.2m at the end of that year). Moonbug’s gross profit grew even faster, by 159% to £81.4m.

Regular Nick:
- Here are other ways to view PBS Kids
- The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj coming soon to Nickelodeon
- Predictions: Nicktoons and Boomerang's untimely demise
- Avatar to return with new animated series on Nickelodeon

However, the company actually recorded a net loss for 2021 of £78.1m, which is explained by one-off exceptional costs of £93.2m related to its acquisition by Candle Media in November 2021.

Who’s that? A company co-founded by Kevin Mayer, formerly of Disney and a short stint as TikTok CEO, and backed by investment firm Blackstone Group. It paid $3bn for Moonbug in 2021.

Moonbug has a mixed history with the music industry, striking a deal with Universal Music Group in August 2021, but arousing the wrath of bodies representing songwriters in March 2022 over its approach to performing rights royalties.

Insidus Games:
- Tom And Jerry: Infurnal Escape
- Tom And Jerry: The Magic Ring
- The Wild Thornberrys Movie
- The Wild Thornberrys: Chimp Chase

Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery And More Will Drive Original Content Spend In 2023

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are expected to lead the content spending race in 2023, even though the streaming industry at large is expected to cut back due to economic pressures, according to analysts.

The research firm anticipates Disney will reach $10.5 billion in original content spend this year, while WBD’s content investment will exceed $9.5 billion. But even with those companies making investments, analysts anticipates global content expenditure to increase by just 2% year-on-year in 2023 – compared to a 6% growth rate last year.

Meaning this year will likely see the slowest content spend growth in a decade – excluding the pandemic-driven content slump in 2020, said analysts. The firm added global economic headwinds will curb household spending and advertising investment, which in turn will lead media companies to implement more cost-saving measures.

YouTube Premium:
- AMC International and Paramount cutting back on staff as less people watch linear TV
- Here are other ways to view the latest content on PBS Kids
- The Smithsonian Channel is closing down in the UK
- God Of War TV series ordered by Prime Video

Both Disney and WBD are in the midst of refreshing their streaming strategy. Disney+ in December launched its first ad-supported tier, which comes with the same content catalog that’s offered on the premium plan. Content ranges from Disney classic movies to series franchises like “Star Wars” and “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” and Disney scored another content acquisition win in October with BBC’s “Doctor Who” series.

Whereas WBD is gearing up to combine its HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services into one app, expected to launch this spring. In anticipation of the combined service, the company has been trimming down premium content on HBO Max. Last year, WBD halted production of some European-produced originals and subsequently cancelled a number of domestic HBO shows, such as “The Nevers” and “Westworld.”

Within spend on SVOD content alone, Ampere predicts Netflix will make up over a quarter of subscription-based original content worldwide in 2023. Netflix is particularly leaning into more international content to gain a wider distribution of viewers. For instance, the streamer is currently developing a reality game show based on its hit Korean drama “Squid Game.”

Insidus Games:
- Tom And Jerry: Infurnal Escape
- Tom And Jerry: The Magic Ring
- The Wild Thornberrys Movie
- The Wild Thornberrys: Chimp Chase

Research analysts predicted SVOD services will see an 8% year-on-year increase in total content investment, but it will lag the 25% growth rate seen in 2022.

“Services will continue to focus on original content to compete in a crowded, cost-sensitive market, but we are already seeing a shift in content commissioning to incorporate a greater volume of cheaper unscripted formats,” Walsh stated.