ViacomCBS has announced that its new streaming service, Paramount+, will launch in the U.S. on March 4, 2021. Paramount+ is essentially a rebranding of CBS All Access that brings together Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and other brands under a single digital roof. In addition to current exclusives such as Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, the service will introduce a variety of new originals such as spy drama Lioness and true-crime docuseries The Real Criminal Minds. You can find the details for those below.
- THE OFFER, a scripted limited event series from Paramount Television Studios, based on Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making The Godfather. The 10-episode event series is written and executive produced by Michael Tolkin (Escape at Dannemora and The Player). Ruddy will also serve as executive producer, and Emmy-winning producer Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys) will executive produce and be a writer on the series.
- LIONESS, a spy drama created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) with Sheridan, Jill Wagner, David Glasser, David Hutkin, and Bob Yari set to executive produce. Based on a real-life CIA program, LIONESS follows a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist to bring the organization down from within. The series is produced by Paramount Network and 101 Studios.
- A reimagination of the Emmy-nominated series Behind the Music entitled MTV’s BEHIND THE MUSIC – THE TOP 40, which will unlock MTV’s vault from the past 40 years for a unique and intimate look at the 40 biggest artists of all time, through their voices and their eyes. The series will be produced by Creature Films and MTV Studios.
- THE REAL CRIMINAL MINDS, a true crime docuseries based on the hit CBS Television series, and produced by XG Productions in association with CBS Television Studios and ABC Signature.
- The service is also developing a revival of THE GAME as part of BET’s programming on Paramount+ from CBS Television Studios and Grammnet Productions.
“This programming will join CBS All Access’ robust existing offering of more than 20,000 episodes and movies from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more, as well as exclusive original series including THE GOOD FIGHT, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, TOONING OUT THE NEWS, NO ACTIVITY, WHY WOMEN KILL, INTERROGATION, THE THOMAS JOHN EXPERIENCE and TELL ME A STORY, as well as upcoming series THE STAND, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, THE HARPER HOUSE, and GUILTY PARTY,” ViacomCBS noted in its Paramount+ press release from September. “The service is also the exclusive domestic home to STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: PICARD, the animated series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS and the upcoming U.S.S. Enterprise-set series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS.”
ViacomCBS hasn’t shared pricing details for Paramount+, but we suspect that it’ll simply echo the cost of CBS All Access. CBS All Access’ standard, commercial-free tier costs $9.99/month, while its limited-commercial tier costs $5.99/month.