Discovery Plus revealed a slate of new non-fiction programming during its day at the virtual Television Critics Association 2021 summer press tour.

Discovery Plus, which launched Jan. 4, 2021, currently has nearly 15 million subscribers. AT&T is merging WarnerMedia with Discovery in a $43 billion deal, and once that deal closes in mid-2022, as expected, the companies are expected to merge Discovery Plus with HBO Max, which currently has 67.5 million subscribers, including HBO subscribers.

Once those deals close and the services merge, HBO Max and Discovery Plus will be closer to rivaling much larger streaming services Netflix, which has 209 million subscribers worldwide, and Disney Plus, which has nearly 104 million subscribers worldwide, although that count does not include Hulu, with nearly 42 million subscribers, or ESPN Plus, with nearly 14 million subscribers. All told, the Disney-owned streaming bundle includes nearly 160 million subscribers, bringing it closer to Netflix.

Among the new shows the streaming service is adding to its slate are Introducing, Selma Blair; Curse of the Chippendales; The Program: Prison Detox; Kendra Sells Hollywood; Naked and Afraid of Love; and Well Done with Sebastian Maniscalco.

Feature documentary Introducing, Selma Blair, from director Rachel Fleit, will premiere in theaters on Oct. 15 and start streaming on Discovery Plus on Oct. 21. The movie follows the actress after her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.

Four-part documentary series Curse of the Chippendales, created by Lightbox’s Simon and Jonathan Chinn, starts streaming on Discovery Plus on Sept. 24. The series covers the many crimes that plagued the Chippendales empire from inside, even while the brand became a global phenomenon.

Docu-series The Program: Prison Detox goes behind the scenes of the revolutionary program employed by Sevier County, Arkansas, an area that has been devastated by drug addiction. The program, which has a 72% success rate, offers qualified inmates, called trustees, the chance to walk free again if they can graduate from a three-month drug rehab program. The Program: Prison Detox premieres Wednesday, Aug. 25.

Six episode docu-series Kendra Sells Hollywood follows Kendra Wilkinson, a former Playboy Playmate best known for starring in E!’s smash pop-culture hit The Girls Next Door, as she becomes a real estate agent in Los Angeles. The series premieres in the fourth quarter of this year.

Naked and Afraid of Love is a spinoff of the popular Naked and Afraid and it plays like a naked combination of Survivor and The Bachelor. Naked and Afraid of Love premieres Sunday, Aug. 22 on Discovery Plus.

Finally, Well Done with Sebastian Maniscalco, a comedian, premiered Sunday, Aug. 12. On Monday, Discovery Plus renewed the food-focused series for a second season of six episodes, which will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 16 on the service.

Tags: discovery plus tca21


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