‘Dancing With Sharks' and ‘Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' Among First Orders as Channing Dungey Shares Plans for Warner Bros. Discovery's U.S. Networks

Yahoo

14-05-2025

Channing Dungey is five months into her new dual job as chairman and CEO of both the Warner Bros, TV Group and US Networks, having taken over most of the company's basic cable portfolio in January. Now, prior to WBD's upfront presentation on Wednesday, Dungey spoke to Variety about strategy for the networks and her first round of announcements — including two that harken back to her days as ABC's entertainment prexy.
Among the programs revealed by Dungey at the Madison Square Garden event: Discovery's 'Dancing With Sharks' (working title) — yep, a cheeky play on the Alphabet net's 'Dancing With the Stars' and even hosted by that competition series' former emcee, Tom Bergeron. The special, which will naturally run during Shark Week, is described as an 'unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners.'
More from Variety
HBO Max Lives! Max to Change Its Name Back After Two Years
Warner Bros. Discovery Ready to Offer Batman, Harry Potter, 'Friends' as Figures for Ads
Disney's Upfront Went Hard on Sports - With an Off-Key Manning Brothers Musical - but Hardly Mentioned ABC
Also in the works: HGTV's 'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' (working title), in which former 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' contestants compete in design challenges to win a cash prize and help the 'Bachelor' estate the facelift it needs after more than 40 seasons. (As an ABC exec, Dungey programmed 'The Bachelor,' and now as studio chief, she oversees the Warner Bros. franchise.)
Other series Dungey was set to announce at the WBD upfront included two new entries for Food Network: 'Family Recipe Showdown,' produced and hosted by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, and 'Guy's Flavortown Games,' a new competition show hosted by Guy Fieri, in which he builds a real 'Flavortown.'
Over at Investigation Discovery, Dick Wolf's Wolf Entertainment is partnering with Vanity Fair for an untitled anthology series looking at high-profile true crime cases; plus, Jennifer Love Hewitt will narrate and exec produce 'They Know What They Did,' looking at how a murder impacted a variety of interconnected people. Dungey also announced a new OWN series, 'Heart & Hustle: Houston.'
Beyond those new series, Dungey confirmed that Max hit 'The Pitt' will get a linear run on TNT this fall, before the Season 2 return of the show on the streamer.
'I have a couple of goals more broadly in terms of what we're trying to do here at the U.S. networks,' Dungey, whose remit now includes Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, TBS, TNT, TLC, Adult Swim and OWN, told Variety. 'The first is to create the next generation of culture-shaping programming within these brands, and tapping into what we do best, which is making shows that people love to talk about, and creating stars — whether they be on Food or HGTV or TLC — that audiences love to connect with. The second one is leaning into our 'One WBD' philosophy, which for me, means deepening our relationships with Max and also hopefully leveraging my position as head of Warner Bros. Television Group to do more WBTV programming on the U.S. nets. And then third, looking for ways to enhance and extend the power of our brands.'
'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' is an example of that kind of cross-pollination: 'that is a nice collaboration between the US networks and Warner Bros. Television Group, because it's our unscripted studio that will be producing that show,' she said, noting that they previously did that with Food Network's 'Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking,' which will be coming back for another season.
In expanding franchises, besides the expansion of the Fieriverse with 'Guy's Flavortown Games,' Dungey also pointed to the new TLC entry '90 Day: Hunt for Love,' the latest in a string of '90 Day Fiancé' shows.
Dungey's early focus appears to be more on the lifestyle channels that continue to make waves with original fare, like HGTV, Food, ID and TLC. 'Some of those brands, like HGTV and Food, they're bigger than television,' she said. 'I would go as far to say that they're like a cornerstone of culture. A lot of our U.S. networks are a part of audiences' daily lives in so many ways, even with all of the noise about the decline of linear. Obviously that's true. Facts speak for themselves. But I do believe that our brands are going to continue to command attention and be influential, and that is part of what makes me so excited about being in this role.'
Scripted, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. And that means Dungey didn't have much to report yet on TNT and TBS, other than sharing an update on the upcoming TNT scripted limited series now titled 'High Value Target,' about the interrogation of Saddam Hussein in 2003. That project, previously called 'Debriefing the President' (and based on the book of that name by former CIA officer John Nixon), marked TNT's first scripted series pickup in several years.
'Right now, we're just evaluating what the right balance of scripted and unscripted fare will be on the T-nets,' Dungey said, adding that she's asked Warner Bros. TV creative affairs president Clancy Collins White to see if there are opportunities to do the kind of shows the studio used to do for The CW (back when Warner Bros. was a co-owner), but for TNT and TBS instead.
'I think that's something that we would be very excited to figure out,' Dungey said. 'Part of the CW strategy involved very successful output deal that we had going with Netflix. Are there ways for us to do that with Max, so that Warner Bros. could produce something that would go on the T-nets and then live on Max? It's about figuring out what the type of programming is and what the budget around that programming is.'
Dungey noted that Warner Bros. Discovery research showed that audiences still identify TNT with the 'We Know Drama' tagline, and TBS with 'Very Funny' — even though neither has used those slogans in several years. That could also come into play as Dungey and her team ponder more comedies on TBS and another tentpole drama for TNT.
In the meantime, TNT is looking to turn its run of Max (soon to once again be 'HBO Max') hits like 'The Pitt' into primetime events. The cabler previously aired HBO's 'True Detective: Night Country,' and will run the first season of 'Peacemaker' ahead of the Season 2 launch. 'Doing things like that, it's great for us, and it also is helping Max as well,' Dungey said. 'If it drives viewers to Max for the new season, that's a win/win. As we look at developing programming, we're always thinking about what would resonate, both for the linear networks and also for Max. The more we learn about the types of programming that we do that perform well on Max, that's a real score.'
Among other networks in her portfolio, Dungey also points to the importance of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim in the mix. 'We're going to continue to develop new programming there as well,' she said. ''Rick and Morty' is doing great. That's our No. 1 series. And then we just renewed 'My Adventures with Superman.' Going back to that 'One WBD' philosophy, the opportunity for us to be doing DC programming in that space is great.'
Dungey said she also is looking to continue to lean into events like Puppy Bowl and Shark Week, and that doing more live events is under consideration.
One thing she can't discuss is recent reports that WBD might consider spinning off its cable networks in the same way that Comcast is moving many of its linear properties to Versant.
'What I've got to do is keep my eye on the prize,' Dungey said. 'I stepped into this role, not really knowing what to expect. And what I have discovered, besides the fact that we have some of the most passionate and engaged people working at the U.S. nets, is we have incredible brands. And the reach of the programming, still, even in this environment, is very large. I look at sort of the power of these brands, the quality of the content, the strength of the team. And I still feel really bullish. I have a lot of faith in our future.'
Here are the new shows Dungey announced on Wednesday:
Food Network
'Guy's Flavortown Games': 'In the new competition series 'Guy's Flavortown Games' (wt), slated to premiere in early 2026 on Food Network and Max, two fearless chefs accept Guy's invitation to the epic restaurant row at the heart of Flavortown Square. Their goal: to prove they have the cooking cred to prepare a winning dish in any type of kitchen imaginable.'
'Family Recipe Showdown': 'Octavia Spencer hosts a multi-generational home cooking competition that celebrates secret family recipes and traditions—where pride is on the line and the stakes are deeply personal as duos compete for a $10,000 prize. Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Southern cooking royalty and expert judge Edgar 'Dook' Chase is joined by guest judges and Octavia's celebrity friends, including Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, Eric Stonestreet, Tina Knowles, Kandi Burrus, Tim Gunn, and Al Roker with his daughter Leila. Family Recipe Showdown will debut in late 2025 on Food Network and Max.'
OWN
'Heart & Hustle: Houston' (wt): 'Produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, the show follows a dynamic sisterhood of successful Black women in the vibrant heart of Houston. These women are redefining what it means to be a boss, a wife and a mother, while navigating a labyrinth of unique daily challenges. The series will premiere in Summer 2025 on OWN.'
Discovery
'Dancing With Sharks' (wt): 'Hosted by Tom Bergeron, 'Dancing With Shark's (wt) is a new Shark Week 2025 special that features an unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners. Blending skill, grace and the daring pursuit of the ultimate underwater thrill, five divers—all trained by a world-class underwater choreographer—will compete to show off their skills during epic underwater dances.'
Investigation Discovery
'They Know What They Did': 'Narrated and executive produced by Jennifer Love Hewitt, each episode charts the journey to confront what really happened, revealing secrets and uncovering the truth. The stories unfold through first-person accounts of friends, family, locals, journalists and law enforcement. The series will premiere in Summer 2025 on ID and Max.'
Vanity Fair/Dick Wolf Series: 'Vanity Fair, Dick Wolf and Wolf Entertainment are joining forces to present some of the most impactful stories with unparalleled access and exceptional reporting. Coming to ID and Max in 2026.'
HGTV
'Renovating the Bachelor Mansion' (wt): 'In the new competition twist premiering in 2026 on HGTV and Max, former 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' contestants who possess expert reno skills return to the house to duke it out in various design challenges with the hope of winning a cash prize.'
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival