Premieres Of TBS’ ‘Miracle Workers’ & ‘The Cube’, TNT’s ‘The Lazarus Project’ Pushed Amid TNets Original Programming Overhaul

Nellie Andreeva
·3 min read
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There are hardly any other networks that have undergone more disruption over the past nine months than Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT and TBS have post-merger — and it’s not over.

The TNets just saw their major January series premieres — previously announced and already promoted — scrapped at the last minute. That includes Season 4 of TBS’ Miracle Workers, which had been slated to open January 16; Season 2 of the network’s unscripted series The Cube, which had been slotted for a January 8 debut; as well as TNT’s acquired British drama The Lazarus Project, which had been teed up for a January 23 launch. You can watch Miracle Workers promo below.

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“TNets scheduling has made some adjustments to its January 2023 programming slate. Impacted series include The Cube (TBS), Miracle Workers (TBS) and The Lazarus Project (TNT),” a TNets rep said in a statement to Deadline. “These strategic scheduling shifts will allow us to better support the three series later in the year.”

While the same happened with Season 2 of TBS’ Chad before the show was dropped altogether (it since has landed at Roku), it does appear that TNets’ leadership intends to air the three shows at a later date. It is unclear why all premieres are being pushed, though TNT and TBS do get better circulation and promotional opportunities in the spring with NCAA men’s basketball March Madness and the final stages of the NBA season.

However, Miracle Workers‘ upcoming fourth season could be its last. While no renewal decision is expected to be made until the season airs, I hear TBS no longer has options on the cast, led by Daniel Radcliffe, so new deals would need to be made for a possible fifth season — a daunting proposition, which networks rarely resort to. Still, I hear that the series’ creative team has an idea for a potential fifth season that Radcliffe is excited about, so, if Season 4 does well ratings-wise, it is possible for the show to continue with Radcliffe, who will need to make a new pact.

With TBS’ January premieres being pushed, the network is getting some additional content for its primetime schedule, currently dominated by repeats of broadcast comedies The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon and Friends. In a corporate synergy move, Impractical Jokers, the flagship series of the third TNet, TruTV, will simulcast its entire 10th season on TBS starting February 9.

The turbulence TNT and TBS have gone through since the Discovery merger include a string of executive departures, first the exits of the previous leadership — General Manager Brett Weitz, SVP Original Programming Adrienne O’Riain, and unscripted chief Corie Henson — followed several months later by that of Discovery’s Nancy Daniels, who had been put in charge of the networks under Kathleen Finch. Additionally, a slew of shows have been canceled or had their previous pickups reversed or both. The list includes TBS’ Chad and Kill the Orange Bear, TNT’s Snowpiercer as well as TBS’ reality series The Big D, with a number of big-ticket development also let go.

As the two networks’ slate of originals has been pared down after the merger, with Miracle Workers as the only remaining original live-action scripted series, the new leadership is yet to reveal their programming plans.

Per Deadline’s report last fall, word at the time was that, on the scripted side, the focus would be on TNT, while TBS would be a largely unscripted brand. The executives have been soliciting cost-effective scripted series that complement the tentpole sports/unscripted programming on TNT — as well as the rest of WBD’s suite of linear networks under Finch.

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