We’ve got an official launch date and a new logo. Paramount Network will debut on January 18. Viacom’s rebranded Spike TV will kick off at 9 PM ET/PT with a live one-hour episode of Lip Sync Battle from the Paramount lot in Hollywood. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Later in January, Paramount Network will premiere six-part event series Waco starring Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, John Leguizamo and Melissa Benoist. The series is based on the controversial and harrowing true story of the 1993 FBI siege of a religious sect that resulted in the deadly shootout and fire and will launch just ahead of the event’s 25th anniversary.
New original scripted series coming to Paramount Network in the first part of 2018 include Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner from writer-director Taylor Sheridan; single-camera comedy American Woman from John Wells; and Heathers, an hourlong pitch-black comedy anthology set in the present day, based on the 1988 cult classic film.
Spike TV’s new website ParamountNetwork.com launches today, alongside new social accounts: @ParamountNet on Twitter and @ParamountNetwork on Instagram and all other social platforms.
The Paramount Network is described as a general entertainment network carrying scripted and unscripted programming announced in 2017 February as part “a new strategic vision and framework” by Viacom CEO Bob Bakish. The name change gives Viacom a film studio (Paramount Pictures), TV production company (Paramount TV) and TV network (the Paramount Network) sharing the famous moniker, just like former corporate sibling CBS Corp. has the CBS broadcast network, CBS TV Studios and CBS Films. This also aligns the channel with the Viacom’s Paramount-branded international TV channel.
Spike, which started off as the Nashville Network and later became TNN, changed its moniker to Spike TV and then Spike in 2003, signaling its focus on male-oriented programming. That evolved with recent entries such as Lip Sync Battle. In announcing the rebrand, Bakish called the network “a premium entertainment destination for a gender-balanced audience.”