Paramount Television Studios

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

On March 4, 2013, former Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman announced the relaunch of Paramount Television, although its parent company Paramount Pictures had previously co-produced the Entertainment One series The Firm a year earlier. The revived Paramount Television didn't use an official on-screen logo until 2015. In January 2020, the division was rebranded to its current name in order to avoid confusion with the Paramount Network cable channel.



1st Logo (January 8-July 14, 2012)

Visuals: On the credits of the program is the Paramount Pictures print logo with the Viacom byline in the 1990 "Wigga Wigga" font below and the text "In association with" above.

Technique: A still digital graphic.

Audio: The closing theme of the program.

Availability: Only appears on the short-lived series The Firm.

2nd Logo (September 21, 2015-)

Visuals: On the background of the current Paramount logo is the mountain in the distance. Then, the stars encircle the mountain, as the words "Paramount Television" (later replaced with the much smaller text "TELEVISION STUDIOS" set in the Avenir font starting in January 2020) zooms out to the top of the mountain one-by-one, as the byline fades in below the mountain. The logo zooms in very slowly during all of this.

Trivia: The logo seems to be a throwback to the 1968 Paramount Television "Rising Circle" logo, such as the placement of the text being above the peak of the mountain.

Bylines:

  • September 21, 2015-December 4, 2019: "A VIaCOM COMPANY"
  • February 6, 2020-2022: "A ViacomCBS Company" (set in Gotham from 2020 to 2021, and ViacomCBS Raisonné from 2021 to 2022)
  • April 28, 2022-: Bylineless

Variants:

  • Sometimes, the logo is still.
  • Nearly a month after Minority Report premiered, starting with the episode “Fredi”, the animation is slowed down.
  • On original Nick airings of School of Rock, the logo is on the bottom-left corner of the screen, as the network only uses split-screen credits to this day. Other airings of the series (for example, online) show the logo normally.
  • One airing of Grease Live! showed the first couple seconds of the logo before cutting it off early due to time.
  • The logo was updated starting in 2016. Here, the animation is smoother, the stars are at an angle at first but tilt to position, the text has better animation as it shines (both of them are in a blueish-brownish gradient color), while the Viacom byline is changed to the one used in the movie logo. This version also plasters the prototype logo on most episodes of Vinyl on Blu-ray.
  • Even though the above version debuted in 2016, School of Rock continued to use the prototype logo until its end in 2018.
  • On the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events, international prints of Peacock original series Poker Face, and the Paramount+ miniseries Knuckles, a still image of the theatrical logo is used. However, this is plastered with the main 2016 Paramount Television logo on current prints of the former's season 1, while the 2022 Peacock logo is plastered with this variant on the the second title.
  • On some shows distributed by Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution (the current distribution unit of Paramount Television Studios), it uses the same variant as above, but the clouds in the background move. Other shows internationally distributed by PWTLD just use the main 2016 Paramount Television or 2020 Paramount Television Studios logos.
  • The colors on the logo are slightly darker on The Haunting of Hill House, Maniac, the final season of 13 Reasons Why, and some episodes of season 2 of Home Before Dark.
  • Strangely, season 1 of the aforementioned above series (which was produced before the name change to Paramount Television Studios, but premiered after the name change) used the "Paramount Television" name above the mountain with the ViacomCBS byline.
  • On shows shot in the 18:9 (widescreen) or 2.39:1 (scope) aspect ratios, the company name is smaller than usual.
  • A short version exists, which starts at the point when the company name zooms out.

Technique: CGI that's similar to its movie counterpart by Devastudios, using Terragen from Planetside Software and Autodesk Maya.

Audio:

  • September 21, 2015: The last five notes of the 1976 "Paramount on Parade" fanfare. Heard on the pilot episode of Minority Report.
    • School of Rock also has this fanfare, but with six notes instead.
  • September 28-November 30, 2015: The last note of the current Paramount Pictures fanfare by Michael Giacchino. Heard on the remaining episodes of Minority Report.
  • January 31, 2016-December 4, 2019: A longer, more majestic, double-pitched arrangement of the Paramount fanfare by Michael Giacchino. First heard on Grease Live!, as well as shows like 13 Reasons Why, Condor, and the Spanish version of To Catch a Thief.
  • October 16, 2016-: A re-orchestrated version of the Paramount fanfare from Grease Live! by Michael Giacchino, this time in the fanfare's normal pitch. First heard on Berlin Station and nearly every Paramount TV show starting in 2016.

Audio Variants:

  • On season 1 episodes of Shooter, while the closing theme to the show plays on the combo, by the time the logo appears, the music fades out, thus making the logo almost silent (the tail end of the closing theme can still be heard on the logo).
  • Fox airings of Minority Report used a generic theme.
  • The logo may be silent or have the closing theme play over it on some shows.
  • On the Netflix miniseries Maniac, during the fanfare, there is Owen (Jonah Hill) saying, "Annie, I'm a hawk!" followed by a hawk screeching.
  • On season 1 of the series adaptation of First Wives Club, the fanfare is sped up.
  • On The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, only the last two notes of the fanfare are heard.

Availability:

  • First appeared on Minority Report and later appears on all shows from Paramount Television Studios since 2015.
  • It also appeared at the end of a November 4, 2017 TeenNick (NickSplat) airing of Hey Arnold!: The Movie in the on-screen credits.
  • It is also shown on the international prints of Poker Face.
  • This does not appear on Knuckles, as Paramount Television Studios had no involvement with that series. Instead it uses the 2011 Paramount Pictures logo.

Copyright Stamps

Here is some information about the copyright stamps on series from Paramount Television Studios:

  • 2016-2019: © [YEAR] Paramount Television. All Rights Reserved.
  • 2019-2020: © [YEAR] Paramount Television, a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
  • 2020-: © [YEAR] Paramount Television Studios, a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Paramount Television (1967-2006)
Paramount Television Studios
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