Tonight’s Finales
ABC: The Conners at 8p, Bless This Mess at 8:30p, mixed-ish at 9p, black-ish at 9:30p
ID: Reasonable Doubt at 10p

IN THE NEWS

In a major reorganization under NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, Mark Lazarus will rise from head of the NBC Sports Group and local stations to Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, adding oversight of the company’s entertainment business, including cable channels and Peacock, to his purview. Telemundo head Cesar Conde has been upped to chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, replacing Andy Lack as Chairman of NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC. Lack is stepping down. “This is the right structure to lead NBCUniversal into the future during this transformational time in the industry,” said Shell.

Nicolas Cage is attached to star in and exec produce a limited scripted series about Tiger King’s Joe Exotic, from showrunner Dan Lagana (American Vandal), Paul Young (Key & Peele), Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. The project, based on a Texas Monthly article about the jailed zookeeper, is not to be confused with another Tiger King project, at UCP, based on the Wondery podcast.

Poverty-fighting organization Robin Hood, iHeartMedia and New York television and radio stations are teaming for a Tina Fey-hosted “virtual telethon” on Monday, May 11 at 7p to raise awareness and funds to help New Yorkers whose lives have been impacted by COVID-19. Simulcast on NYC TV stations, iHeartMedia and Entercom broadcast radio stations, News 12, Spectrum News NY1, SiriusXM and nationally on CNBC, Rise Up New York! will include appearances by Governor Andrew Cuomo, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Fallon, Julianne Moore, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert De Niro, Spike Lee, Trevor Noah, New York Giants Super Bowl champions Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Phil Simms, to name a few, as well as performances by Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Mariah Carey and Sting.

Also raising money for charity is RuPaul, who will compete on CBS’ The Price Is Right at Night special on Monday, May 11 at 8p. The show was shot before COVID-19 shut down TV production.

ESPN is turning to South Korea to help take fans out to the ball game, striking a deal with Eclat Media Group to televise six weekly games played by the Korean Baseball Organization. But viewers will have to get up early (or stay up really late) to catch the action: One game will air weekday mornings at 5:30a from Tuesday to Friday and then Saturdays at 4a and Sundays at 1a, usually on ESPN2 and on the ESPN app. The agreement covers the postseason and the Korea Series best-of-seven championship.

Automobile TV advertising spend dropped 71% in April versus the same period last year, according to iSpot, from $495.8 million to $148.4 million. Impressions fell from 36.3 million to 18.7 million. Lexus was the biggest auto spender ($19.3 million), followed by Fiat Chrysler ($17.2 million) and Hyundai ($16.8 million).

Fifty percent of American say they are likely/very likely to spend less time with media after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to a Mindshare’s eighth weekly tracking study. On the flip side, forty-one percent report they expect to spend more time with media once the health crisis recedes.

STREAMING SCOOP

Game Show Network announced the launch of ad-supported streaming network Game Show Central. “We’re expanding our commitment to game show fans, wherever they are, by showcasing our vast library of past Game Show Network hits,” said Tim Carry, EVP, Distribution, Game Show Network. “We’ve got working commitments from the big ad supported television providers including Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, VIZIO and The Roku Channel. The interest and response from these new partners has been terrific.”

FuboTV reported it had 315,789 paid subscribers by the end of 2019, up 37% from the year prior, with revenue of $146.5 million, up 96% year-over-year. “We are already seeing the return of sports without spectators in some countries, and professional sports leagues as well as collegiate programs in the U.S. are beginning to outline their plans publicly,” said the sports-centric service in a letter to shareholders. “We believe that this trend will continue which will tap into pent-up demand for consumers to view their favorite teams and leagues through streaming platforms.”

Pluto TV and Verizon inked a deal for pay-TV, connected TV and mobile, reports Deadline. The ViacomCBS AVOD will have placement across Verizon’s wireless network and connected platforms.

Controverisal game streamer Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, inked an exclusive deal with YouTube. “Live streaming is something I’m focusing a lot on in 2020 and beyond, so to be able to partner with YouTube and be at the forefront of new product features is special and exciting for the future,” said the Swedish streamer, who boasts a network of over 104 million followers.

In what could not have been a difficult decision, HGTV picked up a sophomore season of insta-hit Celebrity IOU, which has attracted more than 18.9 million total viewers since its premiere on April 13. “Celebrity IOU has delivered a strong, consistent weekly performance among all demos,” said Jane Latman, President, HGTV. “This series continues to break records and it delights viewers with feel-good stories about fan-favorite celebs and the people who love and support them off-camera. We have to make more.” The second season is tentatively slated to premiere in early 2021.

ViacomCBS’s Awesomeness ordered two series to be filmed remotely. The Click (wt) centers on strangers in quarantine forming new connections, and Date Drop follows speed dating done via videoconference. Both series are scheduled to premiere in June on the AwesomenessTV YouTube channel. Also in development are My Dream Quinceanera spinoffs My Dream Quinceanera at Home (wt), and The Sweet Life of Honey, following Quinceanera star Honey Robinson.

AMC greenlit four additional episodes of Friday Night In with The Morgans, the weekly video-chat-based series hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) and his wife Hilarie Burton Morgan (One Tree Hill) from their farm in upstate New York. “Friday Night In was an experiment, that has worked! It worked because the Morgans are effortless and delightful hosts, and the conversations with their friends are uplifting, hilarious, sweet, relatable, playful and meaningful,” said Sarah Barnett, President of AMC Networks’ Entertainment Group and AMC Studios

Michael Lesslie (The Little Drummer Girl) will create, write and exec produce Peacock’s Battlestar Galactica reboot. The NBCU streamer’s series comes from Sam Esmail’s (Mr. Robot) overall deal with Universal Content Productions.

Added to the season two cast of CBS All Access anthology series The Twilight Zone are Topher Grace, David Krumholtz, Gretchen Mol and Damon Wayans, among others. Ten-episode sophomore run is slated to premiere this summer.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Actor Gary Busey (The Buddy Holly Story) will adjudicate court cases involving pets in Gary Busey: Pet Judge, dropping on Amazon Prime and other outlets on Monday, May 25. “Yes, it’s real,” promises a web site for the show – which also sells Pet Judge merch (a GBPJ logo face mask goes for $12,49 – or $9.99 when you buy four).

Science Channel’s Building Giants is back tomorrow, May 6 at 9p, offering a look at the cutting-edge technology and innovations being used to build massive superstructures.

Syfy Wire’s The Great Debate bows Thursday, June 18 at 11p. The half-hour late-nighter features a rotating group of “nerd-tastic, nostalgia loving celebrities,” hosted by Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie).

Season five of Jay Leno’s Garage premieres on CNBC on Wednesday, May 20 at 10p. Taking a spin this time around are guests Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Matt LeBlanc, Elon Musk, Jon Hamm, Jon Lovitz, and more.

Travel Channel’s four-part miniseries Ghost Adventures: Quarantine, self-shot by Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley in the Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, premieres Thursday, June 11 at 9p. “This is by far the most intense investigation and in-depth experiment we have ever done, considering the whole tone of doing a lockdown within a pandemic lockdown…it’s as raw and terrifying as it gets,” said Bagans.

Pro athletes set to compete in season two of NBC’s The Titan Games include boxing world champion Claressa Shields, NFL Iron Man Legend Joe Thomas, Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz, Olympic gold-medal winning snowboarder Hannah Teter, professional stunt woman and star of American Ninja Warrior Jessie Graff, and UFC champion Tyron Woodley. Games begin Monday, May 25 at 8p.

Docu-series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark debuts on HBO on Sunday, June 28 at 10p. The six-parter is based on the book by Michelle McNamara exploring her investigation into the world of the Golden State Killer.

COMING UP

Investigation Discovery has scheduled nine-night event, ID Presents: Nine at 9, starting off Monday, May 25 at 9p with an exploration of the disturbed psyche of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The stunt culminates with a tell-all from the TV producer who was embedded with Joe Exotic from the beginning with The Truth Behind Joe Exotic: The Rick Kirkham Story on Tuesday, June 2 at 9p.

CBS special The Greatest #StayAtHome Videos premieres Friday, May 15 at 8p, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. The show was originally called #Homevideos: A Global Phenomenon.

Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria debuts a new “Investing in our Cities” series today, Tuesday, May 5 at 7:30a. Anchored by Global Markets Editor Maria Bartiromo, the segment will feature interviews with leading business executives and city planners as they discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 and plans to re-open for business. Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, the three-part series will feature an in-depth look at a different city each month, starting with Cleveland.

GOING GLOBAL

Producers Anni Faurbye Fernandez, Moa Westeson and Cindy Hanson are setting up a new Nordic drama production company, Nevis Productions, with investment support from London-based independent producer Nevision. With offices in Stockholm and Copenhagen, the new venture will create high-end scripted content.

ITV has postponed season seven of reality series Love Island until 2021. “We have tried every which way to make Love Island this summer but logistically it’s just not possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everybody involved,” said ITV Director of Television Kevin Lygo.

Canada’s CBS picked up six titles from Cineflix Rights’ factual catalogue for the CBC Gem streaming service and documentary Channel: Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong’o; My Big Family Farm; Legends of the Deep; My Family and the Galapagos; Homicide: Hours to Kill, and The Queen’s Green Planet.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which sitcom, cancelled after just two episodes, focused on a former TV star elected to the US Congress? Charlie Lawrence (2003). Kudos to: Charles A. Mannino-SubCom/Eatontown, NJ, Charles Lore/NYC, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Andrew Goldman-Fathom Events/NYC, Tom Moore-Kalt Production/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which 1960s cop drama focused on a Native American police lieutenant and his African American partner? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four per time zone.)