Showtime Changes Its Name For The First Time In Nearly 50 Years

Another one bites the cable dust. To mark its shift into the streaming world, Showtime is getting its first name change in its 47-year history. The network, famed for series like Dexter and Shameless, will soon be known as Paramount+ With Showtime.

The rebrand-to-be, announced by Paramount CEO Bob Bakish on January 30, will take place later this year, with Showtime’s offerings entering the Paramount+ streaming app. The transition will only affect the premium tier of Paramount+ and Showtime’s linear network in the US, says Variety.

Viewers are consuming media a lot differently these days, forcing networks to trade the television box for streaming entertainment.

Unfortunately, this will mean that more layoffs are in the wings at Showtime, the New York Times reports. The first signs of this emerged when the network canceled two series—American Gigolo and Let the Right One In—on Monday. The latter will find another distributor. Another series that has wrapped filming, Three Women, will no longer be taken up by the company and will also find another home.

In an internal memo, Bakish wrote that although the company is confident the transition is a step in the right direction, he also acknowledged the uncertainty it may bring. The chief executive reassured staff that the company will remain “as transparent as thoughtful as possible” during these changes.

As per the Times, Paramount executive Chris McCarthy told employees that the new Showtime would refocus attention away from “underperforming” areas that raked in under 10% of its views and explore more original stories about “subversive antiheroes,” “high-stakes powerful worlds,” and “culturally-diverse takes.” McCarthy quoted Dexter, Yellowjackets, Billions, Homeland, and The Chi as some of the titles that fall into those categories.

[via New York Times and Variety, cover photo 38761310 © Bigapplestock | Dreamstime.com]