Lifetime renews drama, ups movie output

In Married at First Sight, strangers meet for the first time on their wedding day

Lifetime in the US has renewed psychological thriller You for a second season, signed a production deal with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and ordered two spin-offs from reality show Married at First Sight.

You’s renewal comes ahead of the show’s debut on the network on September 9. Based on Caroline Kepnes’ novel of the same name, the show follows a man with a dark past in pursuit of true love.

The series comes from Berlanti Productions, Man Sewing Dinosaur and Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television and A+E Studios.

The A+E Networks-owned cable network has also pledged to increase the overall number of movies it produces to 75 for 2019. To this end, it has signed a production deal with US broadcaster Robin Roberts for a slate of movies and documentaries under the banner Robin Roberts Presents to debut next year.

The titles will cover subjects such as African-American Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and the true story of Alexis Manigo, who at 18 discovered her real name was Kamiyah Mobley and that she had been abducted as a baby from a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital.

Lifetime has also re-teamed with producer Bishop T.D. Jakes (Faith Under Fire) for anthology series Seven Deadly Sins, based on the book series by Victoria Christopher Murray. Three movies – Lust, Envy and Greed – have been commissioned to debut next year.

In unscripted, Married at First Sight: Honeymoon Island (8×60′) will see previous contestants from the reality show given a second chance to find their soulmate, with 20 participants invited to an island to couple up and decide if they want to get married.

Married at First Sight: Happily Ever After (8×60′), meanwhile, will follow three couples from past seasons who have decided to stay married beyond the experiment, chronicling the daily milestones of married life.

Both series are produced by Red Arrow Studios-owned Kinetic Content and will premiere this fall.

It has also ordered 20 additional episodes of Live PD Presents: Women on Patrol from Big Fish Entertainment, bringing the show’s first season to a total of 40 episodes.