WBD Upfront Show Offers Peeks at ‘House of the Dragon,’ ‘White Lotus,’ Biden-Trump Debate

The Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation took place Wednesday, May 15 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Bruce Campbell, Warner Bros. Discovery’s chief revenue and strategy officer, got it going, talking about the merger a couple years ago, and reimagining “a media company for a rapidly evolving future.”

He added, “No one said it would be easy, and it wasn’t, but we’ve done it.”

Also Read: Continuing Coverage of the 2024 Upfronts

Mindy Kaling spoke about The Sex Lives of College Girls. “I am so proud of this show,” she said, “especially because its voice and subject material could only be on Max.”
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and Max content, talked up Max and its mix of news and sports and series and movies, including Dune: Part 2 coming next week.

“Quality is the heart of everything we create,” he said.

Hannah Einbinder and Paul W. Downs of Hacks were out next. “Audiences may come for the laughs, but the honest moments on Hacks keep them engaged,” said Downs, while Einbinder announced an original comedy special June 13.

Bloys returned to promote season two of House of the Dragon, starting on HBO June 16, and share that another Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, has begun filming, with a 2025 release.

Football show Hard Knocks will focus on the New York Giants as the team marks its century anniversary. 

A trailer for season three of The White Lotus was shared, a theme being, “Anyone who moves to Thailand is either looking for something or hiding from something.”

Season two of The Last of Us turns up in the first half of 2025, and medical drama The Pitt, from John Wells, is in the works.

Sarah Jessica Parker spoke about And Just Like That. She credited “great writing and wonderful actors and the city as the fifth character” for the show’s success.

Jon Steinlauf, chief US ad sales officer, Warner Bros. Discovery, said, “Our industry is in a constant state of change but the value of great content and the need to innovate never changes.” He spoke of “The WBD Effect”, the company’s influence on pop culture, and One WBD, its united philosophy as it moves forward.

Shereen Miller-Russell, executive VP of client partnerships and inclusion solutions, and Dana Nussbaum, executive VP, worldwide marketing, Warner Bros, Pictures, talked about movies, including the success of Barbie and upcoming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, out May 24.

Kathleen Finch, chairman and CEO, U.S. Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery, spoke about the company’s ability to “draw in desirable and unique viewers” on a range of platforms.

“Viewers come to WBD for our addictive content,” she added.

She spoke about true crime, including the Jessica Biel program Fatal Destination, about the dark side of beloved vacation spots. She also spoke about wrestling, The Big Bang Theory and new Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall real estate show The Flip/Off, featuring the divorced couple trying to work together. “You laugh, but you’re gonna watch it,” Finch said.

John Cena was announced as host of Shark Week, which begins on Discovery July 7.

Bobby Flay spoke about holiday programming, such as Holiday Baking Championship and Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown. “We celebrate the food traditions of the holidays like no one else,” he said.

Another competition series, Harry Potter Wizards of Baking, was announced. Pastry chefs will create desserts based on the Potter film franchise.

Several CNN anchors, including Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper, were out next. “No matter where I go in the world, the power of the three red letters is undeniable,” said Cooper.

Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide, shared about why he took the job. “The world needs the truth now more than ever,” he said. “It needs honest reporting and it needs journalists it knows and trusts,” and no one offers that better, he believes, than CNN.

Saying news is more than politics, he promised new branded verticals for business and tech, health and wellness, sports and entertainment.

Back to politics, Thompson said he’d invited President Biden and former president Trump to a debate June 27, and said both accepted that very morning.

Then it was TNT Sports figures Taylor Rooks, Charles Barkley, Micah Parsons,

Dale Earnhardt and Wayne Gretzky. Barkley said of TNT’s Inside the NBA, “The people behind the scenes just come up with fun stuff all the time.”

Gretzky said of NHL on TNT, “we’re just trying to follow their lead.”

Luis Silberwasser, TNT Sports chairman and CEO, said TNT Sports is “obsessed with creating the most compelling sports content for our fans.” Coming up are NASCAR arriving on TNT next year with an in-season tournament, and the NHL Stanley Cup finals next year.

Shaquille O’Neal and Conan O’Brien wrapped things up. O’Brien teased Shaq about all his endorsements, and suggested a few others, including Shaq & Decker and Shaq Oat Milk, for the Shaqtose intolerant.

“We had to be here, you chose to be here,” quipped O’Brien. “That’s on you.”