Apple snags Aniston-Witherspoon drama; LORD OF THE RINGS TV version goes to Amazon; FX and others part with Louis C.K.; Eve joins THE TALK

Get PAT LOVES TV in your inbox every week.

Welcome to another edition of Pat Loves TV, a newsletter about the business of television.

Here are some of the stories that caught my eye this week. I'm always looking for feedback and suggestions. Reach out to me at [email protected] or on social media.

in development: Apple teams with Aniston, Witherspoon for new series; LOTR TV adaptation to Amazon

• Apple Outbids Netflix for Show Starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg)
• LORD OF THE RINGS TV Series Gets Multiple-Season Commitment at Amazon (Lesley Goldberg / THR)
• NBC Buys Legal Drama RELATIVE JUSTICE From Barbara Curry & Parkes+MacDonald (Nellie Andreeva / Deadline)

Hollywood harassment scandals

Louis C.K.; Jeffrey Tambor; Jeremy Piven; CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase; Andrew Kreisberg

• FX Severs Ties With Louis C.K. After Sexual Misconduct Admission (Kimberly Roots / TVLine)
• CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase Has Been a Racist, Sexist, Homophobic Mess for Years, Participants Say (Maria Elena Fernandez / Vulture)
• With HoC, TRANSPARENT & WISDOM Stars Under Scrutiny, Nets Wrestle With What To Do As TV Industry Eyes Changes (Nellie Andreeva / Deadline)
• SUPERGIRL, ARROW Producer Suspended Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations by Warner Bros. (Maureen Ryan / Variety)

streaming/OTT: Amazon to try ad-supported Prime Video tier; Hulu tries alternate formats; Go90 viability

• Amazon Developing a Free, Ad-Supported Version of Prime Video (Garrett Sloane / Ad Age)
• Hulu Readies New Ad Formats for Virtual-Reality and Binge-Watching (Brian Steinberg / Variety)
• Can CBS Grow Quickly Enough To Compete with Netflix and Disney? (Scott Porch / Decider)
• Go90 shows that mobile-only platforms won’t work, Vubiquity executive says (Daniel Frankel / FierceCable)

what else is on? Eve joins THE TALK; Hulu sets premiere dates; When the stream dries up...

• Why Won’t TV Show People Who Aren’t Rich? (Joanna Weiss / Politico)
• Eve Replaces Aisha Tyler as Co-Host on CBS’ THE TALK (Ryan Gajewski / The Wrap)
• Hulu Sets Premiere Dates For HANDMAID'S TALE, THE PATH & Two New Series (Erik Pedersen / Deadline)
• Will Streaming-Only Shows Always Be Available? (Rachel Paige King / Slate)

The Masked Scheduler's History of Must-See TV, Vol. 4

The Masked Scheduler is a former programming executive for NBC and Fox. Recently, for TV By the Numbers, he's been looking back in serial form at the business decisions behind some of the biggest moments of his career, which also happen to be some of the brightest times of NBC's Must-See TV lineup. Below are the next installments in the series.

• part 19: Two shows that almost got away
• part 20: The breaks of the scheduling game
• part 21: Peak MSTV – and signs of trouble
• part 22: A solution for SEINFELD's departure, then more problems
• part 23: ‘Don’t do anything until you’ve told me’
• part 24: The beginning of the end

I plan to include the final volume of this story before 2017 comes to a close; if you can't wait to binge the whole story, go here.

Get PAT LOVES TV in your inbox every week.