FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (WEDNESDAY 5/27/20)
ABC: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Premiere) at 10p
BET: American Soul (Premiere) at 10p
CBS: Game On! (Premiere) at 8p
DISCOVERY: Mysteries of the Deep (Premiere) at 10p
HBO Max: Legendary (Premiere)
HBO Max: Craftopia (Premiere)
HBO Max: Looney Tunes Cartoons (Premiere)
HBO Max: Love Life (Premiere)
HBO Max: The Not Too Late Show with Elmo (Premiere)
LIFETIME: Married at First Sight (Premiere) at 9p
NETFLIX: Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (Premiere)
A&E: Ghost Hunters (Finale) at 9p
HISTORY: Grant (Finale) at 9p
PBS: Expedition With Steve Backshall (Finale) at 10p
TLC: My 600-Lb. Life (Finale) at 8p
With TV production still mostly on hold, season ten of American Horror Story has been delayed until 2021 by FX, which also ordered spin-off American Horror Stories, a weekly anthology series. FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was renewed for a 15th season, making it the longest-running live-action comedy ever; also renewed were FX’s Better Things for season five and season two of docu-series The Weekly. “We couldn’t be more excited about our roster of new and returning shows slated through next year,” said Eric Schrier, president of FX Entertainment. “It has been an extraordinary time for FX over these past three months with the launch of FX on Hulu, which has transformed our business. We believe the continued strength of our original series coupled with the growing awareness of FX on Hulu as our streaming platform will make the FX brand stronger and more relevant and accessible than ever before.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Seven percent of US broadband households upgraded their service in April, but who did what was significantly impacted by the number of children under 18 living at home, found The Diffusion Group. While 4% of households without kids upgraded their internet service, 9.7% of single-child households upgraded; the rate for two-child households rose 13.7%; and the rate for households with three or more children hit 20.9%. Asked if the importance of a home broadband service had changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, 56% of households without children under 18 at home said that having a broadband connection had become more important during the pandemic, while the number was 69% for single-child households and 72% for households with multiple children.
(Source: Cynopsis)
US TV advertising will drop almost 12% in 2020, from $76.2 billion in 2019 to $67.3 billion this year, according to MoffettNathanson Research. National cable nets will take the biggest hit, down 16% to $25.8 billion, and broadcast networks are expected to drop 14%, to $13.0 billion. US TV stations will dip 5.3%, to $20.1 billion, while local cable will slip 4.8%, to $4.6 billion. An earlier estimate had projected a 3.9% lift for US TV advertising this year.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Disney, Disney Studios, CBS Studios and four executive producers are facing a discrimination suit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing over allegations of long-running sexual harassment by cinematographer Greg St. Johns at CBS procedural Criminal Minds (2005-2020). “Defendants’ executive team not only had actual and constructive knowledge of St. Johns’ abusive conduct, they condoned it,” the lawsuit states. “No necessary steps to prevent sex-based harassment and discrimination were taken over the years, nor were appropriate corrective actions. Instead, the executives fired anyone who resisted or who tacitly evaded St. Johns’ advances or abuse.” An investigation of accusations was launched in March 2019.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Altice USA and Optimum launched a campaign called #HeyNeighbor, which showcases exemplary local businesses and individuals in the New York tri-state area. “As a company deeply rooted in the communities we serve, we’re proud to play a part during this pandemic in keeping our local customers connected through our broadband services, and while doing so we have been incredibly inspired by the acts of strength, resilience, and kindness we’ve witnessed in our neighborhoods,” said Hakim Boubazine, Altice USA President of Telecommunications and COO.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ViacomCBS Consumer Products has entered into agreements with multiple licensees to create face masks featuring characters from Nickelodeon properties including SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Blue’s Clues & You! and JoJo Siwa, available through retail outlets later in the summer. All proceeds will be donated to Save the Children and its COVID-19 Global Response.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Josh and Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems) and their Elara Pictures inked a two-year, first-look deal with HBO. A24 will executive produce all HBO projects with Elara.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Showtime Documentary Films today announced a new feature documentary about Timothy Leary, from director Errol Morris (Wormwood, The Fog of War) that will premiere on Showtime later this year. A Film by Errol Morris (wt) explores why Leary, the High Priest of LSD, became a narc in 1974 and seemingly abandoned the millions he urged to turn on, tune in and drop out.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Welcome to the world, HBO Max. AT&T’s new streaming service, launched today, offers all the shows and movies on HBO, as well as exclusive content from WarnerMedia and DC Comics. Price tat: $14.99/month. At launch the app is available on iOS, Android, web browsers, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Samsung smart TVs.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Paley Center for Media today added new selections to its Paley Front Row series, including Apple’s Central Park: A Conversation with the Stars and Creative Team, MSNBC’s Know Your Value: On-Air & At Home – A Conversation About Reporting the Story While Living Through It, and ABC’s Summer Fun & Game Show Hosts @ Home. The programs will be available for view on the Paley Center’s YouTube channel.
(Source: Cynopsis)
A virtual viewing party of WE tv’s Untold Stories of Hip Hop ‘In Quarantine’, hosted by hip hop radio host Angie Martinez, airs Thursday, May 28 on WE tv. In the extension of Untold Stories of Hip Hop, Martinez and her guests look back at their original interviews, catch up on what’s happened since, and share new untold stories. Each week, Martinez will invite friends to a virtual viewing party, with series guests returning via Zoom.
(Source: Cynopsis)
THEMA América announced the launch of “Hot Summer,” a selection of premieres of the Turkish series for Hispanic audiences in the US. Kanal D Drama is the product of a strategic alliance between THEMA and Kanal D International, exporter of Turkish productions globally.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season three of Netflix’s Dark drops Saturday, June 27. “The end is the beginning, and the beginning is the end,” teases the trailer for the time-bending German drama.
(Source: Cynopsis)
My Cat From Hell’s cat behavior expert Jackson Galaxy returns to Animal Planet during the COVID-19 pandemic to help deal with stressed-out cats suddenly spending every a lot more time with their guardians. In the special episode on Saturday, July 11 at 10p, Jackson faces quarantine behaviors unlike he’s ever seen.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Dave Matthews will return to Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, for a second live performance on Thursday, May 28 at 8p. Matthews kicked off the series on March 26 from his home in Seattle, where he will perform again for the final installment of the series.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC News and National Geographic are teaming for a two-hour live streaming and TV event to cover NASA and SpaceX’s mission to the International Space Station starting today, May 27 at 3p on ABC News Live and Nat Geo. Live coverage continues on Thursday, May 28, when the spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fox News Channel will also have live coverage surrounding the NASA launch. FNC’s Managing Editor of Business News Neil Cavuto will anchor a special edition of Your World featuring interviews with experts to discuss the historic mission, including Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt and Tracy Cernan, daughter of late-astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Insight TV is premiering its first documentary film shot entirely in 8K UHD HDR. Sandboarding on Dragon Hill premieres Sunday, June 7 as part of the net’s week-long “Board!, Not Bored” programming event.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Peloton and ESPN are teaming for Pelaton All-Stars Ride on Saturday, May 30 at 12p. ESPN will broadcast two live Peloton rides for the one-hour special, featuring professional athletes from various sports as the class participants.
(Source: Cynopsis)
RATINGS
Golf match The Match: Champions for Charity delivered an average 5.8 million viewers across TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN on Saturday afternoon, based on metered marked data, the most-watched golf telecast ever on cable TV, according to Turner Sports. The event also raised $20 million to benefit COVD-19 relief.
(Source: Cynopsis)
In more sports ratings news, Fox’s coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series drew 3.73 million viewers in early numbers to win Sunday night.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Memorial Day premiere of History’s Grant drew 3 million total viewers, the net’s best non-fiction mini-series launch in six years. Among A25-54 the show delivered 581,000, and among A18-49, 439,000.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bravo boasts the most shows among its competitors (6 in total), among the Top 100 Broadcast & Cable Series Ranker of the 2019-20 season among adults P18-49. Series include The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck, The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Vanderpump Rules.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The May 20 virtual reunion of the cast of NBC musical drama SMASH garnered 2.8 million views on People’s digital platforms. The streaming event, “Bombshell in Concert,” was the #2 Twitter livestream for People.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Survivor Winners at War drew 2.4 million Canadians during the 40th season finale on Global, making it the most-watched wrap-up in 15 seasons.
(Source: Cynopsis)
News executive Bill Small died May 25 after a brief illness. He was 93. Among Small’s accomplishments were serving as CBS News Washington Bureau Chief, NBC News President, United Press International President, and Chairman of the News & Documentary Emmy Awards. “Bill Small was a hero to journalism,” said CBS News president Susan Zirinsky. “He was tough as nails when it came to defending freedom of the press. He was strict, strong, and full of conviction. But the man had a heart of gold — which he only revealed one-third of the time.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Character actor Richard Herd died May 26 of complications from cancer. He was 87. Among Herd’s numerous television credits were Seinfeld, The Rockford Files, Shameless, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Renegades.
(Source: Cynopsis)
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