Saturday’s Premieres
Black News Channel: Secrets of the Caribbean at 2:30p
CBSSN: Bellator MMA Recharge at 8p
ID: Who Killed Caylee Anthony? at 9p
Snap: The Honeybeez of ASU
Travel Channel: My Paranormal Nightmare at 10p

Saturday’s Finale
TLC: Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta at 8p

Sunday’s Premieres
HLN: The Killer Truth at 10p
ID: On the Case With Paula Zahn at 10p
Oxygen: Deadly Cuts at 7p
Showtime: Penny Dreadful: City of Angels at 10:10p
Starz: Vida at 9p
Travel Channel: Magic Caught on Camera at 10p

Sunday’s Finales
CBS: God Friended Me at 9p
Showtime: Homeland at 9p

IN THE NEWS

NBCUniversal is making shopping from home easier with NBCUniversal Checkout, a commerce platform allowing viewers to use their phone cameras to scan codes during “On-Air Shoppable Moments.” “With ShoppableTV, NBCUniversal is transcending the legacy business practices of television and driving business outcomes by creating an on-air real-time commerce experience,” said Josh Feldman, EVP, Head of Marketing and Advertising Creative, NBCUniversal. “By pairing brands with our premium content, owning every stage of the purchase funnel and removing the barriers consumers traditionally encounter between seeing a product and making a purchase, we’re giving marketers a direct sales channel to millions of viewers across the country.” NBCU’s Creative Partnerships team will serve as a production resource to help retailers create, build and distribute new marketing assets; from now until the end of the year, technology and cart fees for ShoppableTV and digital branded content experiences will be waived.

Annual fundraising event Red Nose Day, aimed at ending child poverty, will this year also direct funds to address the impact of COVID-19 on children in need. The campaign’s Red Nose will not be sold in Walgreen’s, to adhere to health recommendations; instead supporters can unlock digital Red Noses and share their #NosesOn selfies on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. A Red Nose Day special will air for the fifth year on NBC, on Thursday, May 21 at 8p.

Cox inked a distribution deal with Cleo TV, the aspirational lifestyle and entertainment cable net serving Millennial and Gen X women of color. “We are excited about our expanded distribution partnership with Cox,” said TV One and CLEO TV General Manager Michelle Rice. “Cox has always been committed to providing diverse content to its subscribers.”

Save the date! As the sports industry eagerly awaits its opportunity to get back in the game, the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are already leaving their imprint on audiences, sponsors, and budgets. Join Cynopsis Sports on June 9 at 1p ET for: The Great Sports Disruption: Preparing For Success in a Post-COVID World. This VIRTUAL conference will be led by A-list speakers who will break down the new ways of doing business. Registration to open in May, so stay tuned!

Apple TV+ ordered limited series The Shrink Next Door, reuniting Anchorman 2 alums Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. The eight-part dark comedy is based on the Wondery and Bloomberg Media podcast. Civic Center Media is producing in association with MRC Television, Gloria Sanchez Productions, Semi-Formal Productions, Wondery and Bloomberg.

Love Nature 4K greenlit two factual series for its linear and online channels. A Wild Year on Earth, produced by Northern Pictures and narrated by Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey), looks at how the planet’s natural events interconnect with life on earth over the course of a turbulent year. Dawn to Dusk, produced by NHNZ, examines the daily life cycles of creatures as they unfold all over the world.

Jason Kurtz, co-creator of Steve Harvey, will serve as executive producer and showrunner of Drew Barrymore’s upcoming talker for CBS Television Distribution. The Drew Barrymore Show launches on local stations in over 95% of the US this fall.

Legendary Global and Spain’s ESPotlight are partnering to develop and produce premium scripted shows. First up: six-part comedy/drama La Treintena, about four twentysomething women in Barcelona coming to terms with coronavirus lockdown.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Yellowstone returns to Paramount Network for season three on a new night: Sunday, June 21, Father’s Day. Josh Holloway (Lost) joins that cast as a hedge fund manager. On Mother’s Day, May 10, a marathon of season one begins at 1p. The first two seasons of Yellowstone aired on Wednesdays; it was the number one scripted summer series across cable and broadcast among A18-49 and A25-54.

WE tv spin-off Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup will include four one-hour episodes, created from self-shot footage. “Our network is focused on real life and our talent are all real people, dealing with the same issues, fear and frustrations as our viewers,” said Marc Juris, President of WE tv. “This moment in time provides a unique opportunity to add even more relevant and relatable content to our viewers – including important reminders how to stay safe and healthy.”

Romantic comedy Como Tu No Hay 2 (No 2 Like You) makes its debut on Univision Monday, April 27 at 10p. Telenovela tells the story of twins separated a birth, who swap personalities and lifestyles.

At Home with Amy Sedaris returns to truTV for season three on Wednesday, May 20 at 10p. The series takes a subversive twist on hospitality.

The first 12 episodes of season 23 of Pokemon Journeys: The Series drops on Netflix on Friday, June 12, with new installments to be added quarterly. Pokemon launched in Japan in 1996.

Season five of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of the Potomac will premiere this summer, instead of a previously-announced May 3 launch.

CNN International is hosting five-minute Facebook Watch videos in EMEA focused on how people are observing Ramadan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together Apart: Stories of Ramadan will include interviews, first-hand accounts and user-generated content, starting Sunday, April 26.

BET+ has added Diggstown to its roster of original programming. The six-part legal drama, set in the gritty arena of a legal aid office in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is streaming now.

COMING UP

Entertainment Studios announced Feeding America Comedy Festival, to assist families impacted by the health crisis. Co-produced by Funny Or Die, the event will livestream on Allen Media Group TV’s Comedy.TV and The Weather Channel, as well as on the free streaming service app Local Now from 8-11p Saturday May 9. Among the comedians who have committed to participate are Kevin Hart, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Brad Garrett, Tiffany Haddish, Caroline Rhea, Chris Rock and more.

NBC’s Saturday Night Live will air a second remotely-produced version on April 25. The #SNLAtHome news was announced via Twitter.

Jesus Trejos’s first Showtime comedy special airs Friday, May 29 at 9p. Jesus Tejo: Stay at Home Son explores the lengths he’ll go to reach his parents’ expectations.

The Story of Soaps, a two-hour special exploring the genre, airs Tuesday, May 19 at 8p. ABC partnered with People for the TV event, which will, of course, include Susan Lucci, among many others.

Poker Central, Global Poker and RunGood announced that their new charitable initiative, “Keep The Lights On,” will launch on Monday, April 27. “Keep The Lights On” will stream a series of poker games played with poker personalities Jamie Kerstetter, Jeff Platt, and Brian “TheGoldenBlazer” Frenzel as they play to raise money for a fund to support freelance poker media who are being adversely affected by COVID-19.

TECH TALK

Google Meet is upping its game as video conferencing surges. New features rolling out include a tiled layout that allows users to see up to 16 participants at once; low-light mode, using AI to automatically adjust videos in sub-optimal conditions; noise cancellation, to filter out background distractions like barking dogs and keystrokes; and the ability to present via a single chrome tab instead of the entire computer screen.

Snap Inc. said it plans to raise cash with an offer of $750 million in senior notes. The money will go for general corporate purposes, said the company, and possibly “to acquire complementary businesses, products, services, or technologies.”

Verizon Media is helping the USO’s efforts in military virtual programming to keep troops connected during the coronavirus crisis, by donating use of its digital media streaming platform. The platform will also be used to share USO programming for military spouses and families that have transitioned to virtual engagements during COVID-19. Verizon has made an additional donation toward the USO’s Combat COVID-19 efforts which will support USO programs and services like USO care packages.

ADVERTISING

Google is going to require advertisers to provide proof of their identities, and the countries where they do business, similar to its verification program for political advertisers. “This change will make it easier for people to understand who the advertiser is behind the ads they see from Google and help them make more informed decisions when using our advertising controls,” wrote John Canfield, Director of Product Management, Ads Integrity, in a blog post. “It will also help support the health of the digital advertising ecosystem by detecting bad actors and limiting their attempts to misrepresent themselves.”

STREAMING SCOOP

Days after its acquisition by Fox Corp., AVOD Tubi has started carrying Fox hit The Masked Singer. The first two seasons can be viewed free; current season three episodes of the singing competition will be available on Tubi in the weeks following their air on the net

Bleacher Report is livestreaming the NFL Draft on the B/R app the for the first time. The ZB/R Gridiron 2020 NFL Draft Show continues tonight, April 24 at 7p and Saturday, April 25 at noon.

The Homeschool Channel debuted on Crackle, offering over 100 hours of series like Baby Einstein, to help parents educating children up to 8 years old at home. Each series will begin with a PSA from the Ad Council with messages around healthy habits during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

COV-AID, “an egoless alliance of talent, distribution and nonprofit partners,” is presenting a multi-platform, one-day online charity event on Tuesday, May 5, at 1p. The event will feature gamers, athletes, artists and other personalities streamed across top social game-streaming platforms including Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter and Facebook. All proceeds will be donated to Americares and Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help the fight against COVID-19, and to support front-line medical professionals, first responders, and families affected by COVID-19.

PODCAST POSTS

Novel Entertainment is launching a podcast based on its animated TV series Horrid Henry on Sunday, April 26. Horrid Henry Unlocked will be presented by radio host Sean Thorne and voice actor Lizzie Waterworth.

Wonder Media Network, Captivate, Lantigua, Williams & Co., Pocket Casts, Spotify and Stitcher are onboard Podapolooza this weekend. The virtual podcast festival featuring live audio panels and Q&As mixed with brand new content will benefit GiveDirectly, = a nonprofit offering cash relief to vulnerable households in areas affected by COVID-19.

GOING GLOBAL

ViacomCBS International Studios confirmed new international distribution deals. Produced in-house for Channel 5 in the UK, the 60-minute documentary, ABBA: Secrets of their Greatest Hits will transmit across six major networks including: Nine Network (Australia), RTL (The Netherlands), Discovery (Spain), Medialaan (Belgium), MTV Oy (Finland) and SVT (Sweden). The Wonderful World of Chocolate season 2. will air on SBS (Australia), TV2 (Denmark), RTL (The Netherlands), and TV4 (Sweden).

Japan’s Nippon TV and UK’S ITV Studios announced that ITV Studios has acquired the exclusive rights to produce the unscripted game show Red Carpet Survival in each territory it has an unscripted production base. The production deal spans 33 territories across Europe, the United States, the Middle East, North Africa and Australia, as well as rights to distribute the resulting finished versions worldwide.

Noggin, Nick Jr.’s subscription service for preschoolers, is now available to customers in 38 new territories throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia through Apple TV channels on the Apple TV app. The regional launches more than double Noggin’s global footprint, following the service’s initial launch on the Apple TV app in March in over 25 territories, including the US, UK, Germany, France and multiple markets in Southeast Asia.

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Friday Fun Fact
The Russians arrived to the 1908 Olympics 12 days late because they were using the wrong calendar.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which short-lived 1960s series featured guest stars William Shatner, Peter Fonda, Martin Sheen and Mickey Rooney? Arrest and Trial (1963-64). Kudos to: Charles Lore/NYC, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, Amy Kessler-Merola Opera Program/San Francisco.

Today’s Trivia Question
Which sitcom was centered in Nowhere, California? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)