Monster Garage is coming back to Discovery Channel after a 14-year absence. “It’s crazy to think my relationship with Discovery Channel started exactly 20 years ago. After all this time I’m still excited to step into the Monster Garage,” said Monster Machine builder Jesse James. “Excited to work hard and push the limits again. Showing people what you can do with teamwork, skills, and a refusal to quit.” Produced by Original Productions, the series will return in 2020.

A series inspired by the 2018 film Love, Simon has jumped from Disney+ to corporate cousin Hulu. Love, Victor, from This Is Us exec producers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, is centered on a new student on a journey of self-discovery.

Lake Bell, co-creator and star of ABC’s Bless This Mess, signed a pod deal for Lake Bell Prod. at 20th Century Fox Television. “Lake Bell is a creative force of nature whose incredible talent extends from acting and directing to writing and producing,” said Carolyn Cassidy, President of Creative Affairs, 20th Century Fox TV. “Her hard work and creativity have helped make Bless This Mess into the hilarious, original and warm series we adore.”

Disney Channel is bringing back Bunk’d for season five. Erin Dunlap (Andi Mack), who joined the series as executive producer in season four, will return as sole showrunner for season five. Former executive producer Phil Baker (Andi Mack), who teamed with Dunlap on the series’ fourth season, will focus on development and other projects for the channel. Production begins in fall 2020.

Nickelodeon gave a greenlight to Side Hustle, a live-action series starring social media stars Annie LeBlanc and Jayden Bartels. Created and executive produced by Dave Malkoff (Henry Danger), buddy comedy will begin production in March for a premiere later this year.

Nick also ordered season three of preschool series Ryan’s Mystery Playdate, starring eight-year-old YouTube sensation Ryan of Ryan’s World. Playdate ranked as the number one preschool series on all of TV for 2019.

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe will host Qubi’s Prodigy, a docu-series profiling athletes age 21 and under who are set to be sports’ next standouts. Park Stories will produce.

Big Bad Boo Studios has announced the return of preschool miniseries Lili & Lola to its SVOD platform, Oznoz. Series is set to begin production of its five-episode third season later this year, with launch slated for 2021.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Amazon Prime Video’s Making the Cut makes its debut Friday, March 27. Ten-episode shoppable fashion competition reunites Project Runway’s Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, who host and executive produce.

Bravo follows the shenanigans at “the ultimate adult playground” in new series, Camp Getaway, premiering Monday, April 6 at 10p. Reality show focuses on a crew that tends to the whims of pampered campers.

Craig’s World, following country music entertainer, TV host and Army veteran Craig Morgan, debuts Thursday, March 5 at 8p on Circle Network. Docu-series airs weekly through May 7.

Smithsonian Channel’s Viking Women: The Real Valkyries launches Monday, March 2 at 8p, exploring the implications of the discovery of a skeleton in a 1000-year-old Viking grave that was actually a woman. The series debuts the day after the premiere of the net’s Women’s History Month social video initiative, that includes the rollout of a series of videos throughout March spotlighting women who have made a profound impact on the world.

TLC’s 7 Little Johnstons is back with new episodes Tuesday, March 31 at 10p. Action includes a graduation, a prom, and a medical mystery.

A show dedicated to blind and visually impaired hunters arrives on Sportsman Channel in July 2020. Thirteen-episode Adaptive Pursuits TV, presented by the North American Association of Blind Sportsmen, will offer “inspiring examples of living life despite perceived handicaps,” said Jim Liberatore, Outdoor Sportsman Group President and CEO.

STREAMING SNIPPETS

YouTube TV inked a new distribution deal with Windstream, enabling Windstream’s Kinetic broadband customers to add YouTube TV for $49.99/month. “Partnering with YouTube TV gives our customers a way to cut the cord without sacrificing live, local coverage and seamlessly access the latest on-demand content,” said Jeff Small, president of the consumer and small and midsize business segment at Windstream. YouTube TV has over 2 million subscribers.

TECH NEWS

A partnership between Verint Systems’ The Customer Engagement Company and Adobe is aimed at supporting more personalized customer journeys by combining experience data from the Verint Experience Cloud with data from the Adobe Experience Platform. Verint customers can magnify their Adobe digital analytics outcomes with Verint’s predictive model to increase customer satisfaction and improve business outcomes. For more, go here.

COMING UP

Mary Hart and John Tesh reunite for tonight’s broadcast of Entertainment Tonight. Hart hosted the show from 1982-2011, joined by Tesh from 1986-1996.

ABBA: Secrets of Their Greatest Hits makes its US premiere on Reelz on Sunday, March 1 at 9p. Special explores the stories behind hits like “Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen” and “The Winner Takes It All.”

The Paley Center for Media will pay tribute Kerry Washington (Scandal) with the special program, Celebrating Kerry Washington: Conversation & Exclusive Preview Screening of Little Fires Everywhere. Event takes place Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30p in New York.

Powerful women, coming through! On Thursday evening, September 24 in NYC, Cynopsis will be filling the house and toasting the strong women moving the industry forward at the 2nd Annual Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards Gala. Nominate yourself or a colleague before April 13th and join in on the celebration.

Smithsonian Channel announced the inaugural film festival Santiago Wild, dedicated to wildlife and environmental documentaries in Chile. The net is co-sponsoring the event with multimedia company Jackson Wild. Santiago Wild will be held in the Chilean capital March 18-20.

GOING GLOBAL

An adaptation of book one of Malorie Blackman’s YA series Noughts & Crosses will air on BBC One in March. Mammoth Screen is producing the story of first love in an alternate world where prejudice divides society. Six-parter is written by Lydia Adetunji (Riviera), Nathaniel Price (Tin Star) and Rachel De-Lahay (Kiri).

DISTRIBUTION

Hulu landed exclusive US streaming rights to the South Korean film, Parasite. Oscar winner will be available starting Wednesday, April 8.

FilmRise landed video distribution rights to documentary Rewind, which utilized 20-year-old home movies to reconstruct a family’s cycle of abuse. Film will be released theatrically in NY and LA in March 2020.