​National Geographic, ABC Family, Scripps and TV One expanded brands and ramped up programming at their upfront presentations this week, each trying to reinvent their networks to keep up with changing audiences and changing times.

National Geographic Channel:

Nat Geo will test its first comedy in 2016 and reboot the Explorer program, along with a partnership with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

Coming off of its most-watched March in its history with the premiere of Killing Jesus, CEO Courteney Monroe says that network changes reflect a shift toward its educational past.

“National Geographic Channel is the only network on television with a 127-year legacy,” said Monroe. “For us, the power of this brand comes from the innovators and explorers before us who dared to redefine possibility and heroically forged against convention. As evident in the diverse and ambitious programming that we continue to develop and produce, we’re taking our viewers on adventures, bringing them to places no one else can deliver and giving them the inspiration and curiosity to dive into the unknown.”

Nat Geo’s first comedy, History of the World… For Now comes from the writers of HBO’s Silicon Valley, telling stories “from the Big Bang to The Notorious B.I.G.”

Paul Giamatti will join the network’s programming lineup through a partnership with GE and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment for Breakthrough, while scripted project Saints & Strangers will tell the story of the first settlers in America.

Nat Geo also announced its two summer miniseries for this year, American Genius and The 2000s: A New Reality, which will follow up on its successful series The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us.

Nat Geo WILD:

Celebrating its fifth anniversary on air, Nat Geo WILD will ramp up its Big Cat Week, add more veterinarian-related programming to the mix and expand its “Wild” franchise on Sunday nights.

The TV event Big Cat Week is joined by BarkFest II and Sharkfest, and Wild Sunday nights will now include Wild Yellowstone, Wild Sri Lanka, Wild Atlantic and Wild South Africa. Disneynature will provide additional content, with celebrity-narrated featured such as Wings of Life with Meryl Streep.

ABC Family:

The network home to Pretty Little Liars and The Fosters is looking to capitalize on its unique audience by coining the term “Becomers.”

Becomers, ABC Family viewers, are defined as young adults between 12-34. This is the demographic driving the network’s brand shift in order to get away from the “Family” part of its name.

New programming is meant to target viewers entering adulthood, so the network is aging down a bit from its millennial target of past years. With this, ABC Family has unveiled its first procedural, Stitchers, the unscripted series Becoming Us, and docuseries Job or No Job and Next Step Realty: NYC. Previously announced Shadow Hunters and Recovery Road will debut early 2016.

Scripps:

Scripps Networks (Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY) highlighted its new TV personality, Mr. T, who is the star of the new DIY show I Pity the Tool.

Its other networks are following suit, adding celebrities and well-known brands to their lineups, including Tiffani-Amber Thiessen’s Dinner at Tiffani’s as well as more teen formats such as Chopped Teen and Rachael Ray’s Kids Cook-Off.

TV One:

President Brad Siegel presented a plan to deliver almost 500 hours of new programming throughout the next year, including a monthly Saturday night movie block and new scripted shows Mitch N’ Max and Born Again Virgin.

The network also has a plan to ramp up its unscripted slate with real crime series For My Man, Unstoppable and The Next 15.

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