Tonight’s Finales
Food Network: Tournament of Champions at 10p
ID: In Pursuit with John Walsh at 10p
INSP: The Cowboy Way at 9p
Syfy: The Magicians at 10p

Hulu renewed Shrill for a third season, ordering eight new episodes of the comedy starring SNL’s Aidy Bryant. The series was developed by Bryant, showrunner Alexandra Rushfield and Lindy West and inspired by West’s book, Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman.

The 2020 Digital Content NewFronts have been rescheduled for the week of June 22, with the IAB citing the need for more time for participants to prepare live-streamed presentations. “We’re having extensive conversations with both buyers and presenters about how to leverage this year’s unique challenges to create something that’s not just ‘OK, all things considered’ but really and truly better,” said David Cohen, President, IAB. “Our goal is to create a dynamic marketplace that connects buyers and sellers in a way that allows ample time for development, a robust platform for delivery, and safety for all.” Companies previously scheduled for the 2020 NewFronts, which was originally to take place April 27-May 6, included YouTube, Twitter, Roku, Verizon Media, Amazon, BBC News, Conde Nast, Ellen Digital, Hulu, Meredith, The New York Times Col, Vice Media Group, Walmart’s Vudu and ad agency Digitas.

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus. “I have been exposed to people in recent days who have subsequently tested positive and I had fevers, chills and shortness of breath,” he wrote on Twitter. “We will all beat this by being smart and tough and united!” Cuomo continues to anchor his show, Cuomo Prime Time, from the basement of his home.

ESPN tennis announcer Patrick McEnroe also revealed his positive COVID-19 test on social media. McEnroe tweeted a video from his basement, noting he “got some minor symptoms about 10 or 11 days ago” and had just gotten his test results back Tuesday morning after going through a drive-through testing center in New York.

BBC newsreader Georg Alagiah is one of the first British television stars to test positive for the coronavirus. He revealed his diagnosis to BBC News, having not been on-air in recent weeks. Alagiah said he has a mild case of the illness and is working towards recovery.

Soap operas are usually programs you can count on to be originals, but ABC’s General Hospital will air repeat episodes on Fridays, from April 3 through May 22, due to production halted by the coronavirus. New episodes will continue to air Monday through Thursday.

Comcast reports that since social distancing took effect, linear video consumption has increased by 4 hours per week, to 64, with VOD up 25% year-over-year. Comcast also said voice remote requests for “free movies” is up almost 50%.

NFL owners voted to expand the playoffs to include 14 teams and will add postseason games on Nickelodeon and NBCUniversal’s streamer, Peacock. The changes were agreed to in the league’s latest collective-bargaining agreement with players and will go into effect with the upcoming 2020 season.

Gotcha! Investigation Discovery announced the arrest of Frederick McCaskill thanks to a tip from a viewer of In Pursuit with John Walsh. The episode, which aired March 11, featured the fugitive, who is now awaiting extradition to Austin, TX, where he will face second degree felony charges for aggravated assault with serious bodily injury and family violence.

BBC America is expanding Wonderstruck, its dedicated 24-hour micro-net destination for wildlife and wonder, to two full days a week. Beginning April 2, Wonderstruck will be available on Thursdays in addition to its regular timeslot on Saturdays.

Christopher Meloni will reprise his Law & Order: SVU role as Elliot Stabler in a newly-ordered NBC spinoff crime drama from Dick Wolf. The network ordered 13 episodes of the series, which revolves around the NYPD organized crime unit led by Stabler. It marks the first show to come out of the new five-year multi-platform deal Wolf inked with Universal Television in March.

Stephen Colbert’s animated news comedy Tooning Out The News is back in production and set to launch on Tuesday, April 7 on CBS All Access. The show’s crew is now working remotely.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey executive producer, Dorothy Toran, has launched her own production company, reports Deadline. Lauren Grace Media will focus on development and production of non-fiction and scripted series, as well as incorporate a small talent management division. Toran is President and EP at the company, while former Vice President, Production at NBC Universal, Leslie Farrell, joins as SVP, Development and Executive Producer.

CONNECTING IN A COVID-19 WORLD

USA Network and SYFY are partnering across NBCU on campaigns like “The More You Know” and actively planning others to be announced. In addition to regularly scheduled originals, USA is going “All In” with all-day themed marathons of shows including Chicago PD, Law & Order: SVU, NCIS, Temptation Island and more, as well as Harry Potter movie marathons. SYFY is inviting viewers to “Hang In. Geek Out.” with original programming and upcoming marathons. Twilight Zone Tuesdays, debuted March 31, and Futurama Saturday morning cartoons will run every Saturday in April.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Zachary Quinto and Ari Graynor are joining forces for a live stream reading of the late Terrence McNally’s play Lips Together, Teeth Apart on Monday, April 6 on Broadway.com and its Face book and YouTube channels. Event will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. The performance will be dedicated to McNally, who died of complications from the coronavirus on March 24.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Master Minds premieres Monday, April 6 at 4p on Game Show Network. Trivia game show is hosted by Brooke Burns and features Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings.

AXS TV debuts 14 episodes of Live From Daryl’s House on Sunday, April 19 at 9p. Created in 2007 by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Daryl Hall, the music series features jam session with Jason Mraz, Wyclef Jean, Fitz & The Tantrums, Train, Rob Thomas and more.

The sophomore season of Bravo’s Married to Medicine Los Angeles bows Sunday, May 3 at 9p. Dr. Kendra Segura and Lia Diaz join the show’s group of doctors and wives.

Duff Goldman and his team are back to create new masterpiece confections on Duff Takes the Cake, premiering Monday, May 4 at 10p. A sneak peek of the series airs Sunday, May 3 at 10p.

ESPN and Netflix moved up the premiere date of Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance to Sunday, April 19 from Tuesday, June 2. The 10-part series explores Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ quest for the sixth NBA Championship in 1998.

Limited series I Know This Much Is True will now debut on Sunday, May 10 on HBO. From writer and director Derek Cianfrance, six-parter stars Mark Ruffalo as identical twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in a family saga that follows their parallel lives.

Nicky Jam: El Ganador, the authorized bio-series based on the life and career of the Latin music superstar, will be available on Netflix in the U.S. on Tuesday, April 21. The 13-episode series previously debuted on Netflix internationally.

COMING UP

Syfy is bringing back Sharknado with a 16-hour marathon, kicking off Sunday April 5 at 8a. All six movies from the franchise will air in order.

The Man Who Tried to Feed the World premieres Tuesday, April 21 at 8p on American Experience on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App (check local listings), telling the story of Norman Borlaug, an American agronomist who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in fighting global hunger.

Showtime will air the TV premiere of The Hustlers, starring Jennifer Lopez. Film bows Saturday, April 25 at 9p.

STREAMING SNIPPETS

Time spent streaming video during the day is soaring, up 40% in the US in recent weeks, according to data from Conviva. “As we all adjust to the new normal, streaming and social video have become even more important to many American households,” said Conviva CEO Bill Demas. But as daytime streaming has surged, typical primetime viewing has dipped by 2%. “While the circumstances are unique and the shifting primetime is surprising, the streaming growth is not,” said Demas. “We anticipate streaming providers will retain new viewers long after the coronavirus crisis has ended, as viewers embrace the variety and flexibility of the medium.”

Parrot Analytics tracked demand for The Mandalorian in the seven European markets where the new Disney+ streaming service launched on March 24 and found it was the top digital series in all of them. In Germany, The Mandalorian was 43.21 times more in demand than the average TV series, while it was 34.95 times more in demand in the UK and 32.33 times more in demand in Italy.

Tumblr launched new official blog, Cozy.Tumblr.com. The blog will be curated with art memes, photography and content aimed at leaving young Internet users feeling refreshed and mindful.

TECH TALK

Discovery platform Taboola announced a collaboration with Moat by Oracle Data Cloud to give Taboola advertisers the ability to purchase video impressions on an outcome-based method, including viewable or video completion events. When buying on a vCPM model, advertisers will only pay for viewed impressions, and when buying on a CPCV model, advertisers will only pay when their ad has reached their desired completion point, both as verified by Moat. “Through this collaboration, we’re giving peace of mind to advertisers and making it simple to prove ROI, backed by our trusted verification provider Moat,” said Adam Singolda, CEO and Founder, Taboola. “As brands are looking to diversify outside of the walled gardens, the opportunity to bring video formats into the open web, measured where you only pay for success, is a huge opportunity.” For more, go here.

Spotify launched Spotify Kids on Tuesday in the U.S., Canada and France. The kids’ app features over 8,000 curated songs for children ages 3 and up. Included in the mix is a coronavirus-related “Wash Your Hands” playlist with songs that help children learn how to wash their hands properly and ensure good hygiene when they cough or sneeze.

Roku’s new OS 9.3 update begins rolling out over the next few weeks and will feature improvements to search and voice control functions. Roku Voice search results will now be more visual and categorized into rows including relevant movies, shows and short-form entertainment. The company also said that over 50 streaming channels now support direct playback from search when using Roku Voice by directly playing the show or movie when possible, rather than displaying search results. Roku is also adding support in the U.S. and Mexico for Spanish-language commands.

PODCAST POSTS

Pals and former castmates Zach Braff and Donald Faison have officially launched Scrubs re-watch podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends With Zach + Donald at iHeartRadio. The pair will talk about all things related to the former NBC comedy. The first episode is now available.

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is set to headline podcast Yang Speaks this spring, in partnership with Cadence 13. The show will air weekly and feature thought leaders on a variety of topics, including technology, entertainment, policy, sports, pop culture and more.

TCM launches The Plot Thickens on Tuesday, April 28, a podcast about the movies and the people who make them. The first season is a seven-episode documentary about the life and work of Peter Bogdanovich titled “I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich.”

GOING GLOBAL

Sony Pictures Networks India and WWE struck a five-year exclusive extension to their broadcast deal for WWE’s weekly flagship programming and localized content. As part of the pact, SPN will have the rights to air Raw, SmackDown, NXT as well as WWE pay-per-view specials live on its sports and digital platforms in English, Hindi and regional languages. The expanded agreement also gives SPN rights to the WWE Network through SonyLIV, SPN’s OTT platform.

Disney+ launches in India on Friday, April 3 as part of the Hotstar streaming platform. According to Yahoo!, Hotstar will be rebranded Disney+ Hotstar beginning Friday.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced winners of the 8th International Emmy Kids Awards on the Academy’s website and via its social media channels, after the cancellation of MIPTCV. Among the winners: Zog, Magic Light Pictures, United Kingdom for Kids: Animation; Lik Meg, NRK Super, Norway for Kids: Digital; and Nosso Sangue, Nosso Corpo, Fox Lab Brazil/Your Mama, Brazil for Kids: Factual.

AMC Networks International and Orange TV launched AMC Selekt in Spain. It offers the on-demand films, series, documentaries, lifestyle, children’s content and music of 10 thematic channels of AMC Networks International Southern Europe.

Lineup industries scored a German commission for gameshow Switch, originally created by Panenka for VRT. Produced by Riverside for broadcaster WDR, the new local version, titled Quizz Dich Auf 1, will be adapted to fill a 45-minute slot and air weekly.

Orange Smarty comes to market with 175 hours of new programming. The slate features titles from UK’s Primal Media, Yeti Media and Little Gem; Canada’s Summerhill Media, Australia’s Jaffle Media and New Zealand’s ASC Media.

Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana and Sesame Workshop announced that the first season of preschool series Esme & Roy was picked up by Discovery Kids Latin America. Distributed by Nelvana, the series was created by TV veterans Dustin Ferrer and Amy Steinberg.