Tonight’s Finales
AMC: Creepshow at 10p
TLC: 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days at 8p

IN THE NEWS

California released guidance for the resumption of film and TV production “no sooner than June 12,” subject to county public health officials and a review of health data. “To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, productions, cast, crew and other industry workers should abide by safety protocols agreed by labor and management, which may be further enhanced by county public health officers,” said the guidance. Whether LA County makes the cut may depend on hospital capacity. There has been “a slight increase over the last three days in the number of people hospitalized,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Friday. “We’ll need to make sure that we’re not starting to see a significant increase in the number of people requiring hospitalizations.”

“April increasingly feels like the bottom,” wrote Pivotal Research Group analyst Michael Levine about the ad industry, in a report to investors. “We will be waiting to see how June shapes up, as well as color around second half outlook before refining our estimates, but numbers are likely going higher.”

The return of live sports is going to have a big impact on streaming and other behaviors among sports viewers, according to a survey from Magid, which noted the increase in SVOD viewing, as well as gaming and social media usage among sports viewers, can be attributed to the lack of live sports, not COVID-19 quarantine. Sports viewers “desperately miss sports on TV,” said Magid, with the survey indicating 37% of respondents plan to watch more sports programming when it returns than they did before the health crisis. Two-thirds of MVPD subscriptions and 71% of vMVPD subscribers reported live sports was the top content category reason for paying for TV services.

Facebook said it will ban ads from state-controlled media outlets in advance of the presidential election. In a post, Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Cybersecurity Policy, wrote, “State-controlled media outlets rarely advertise in the US. Nevertheless, later this summer we will begin blocking ads from these outlets in the US out of an abundance of caution to provide an extra layer of protection against various types of foreign influence in the public debate ahead of the November 2020 election.” Facebook has also started labelling posts from media outlets that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government.

A&E pulled episodes of Live PD over the weekend in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody. “Out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives, in consultation with the departments we follow, and in consideration for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision not to broadcast Live PD this weekend,” said the network.

The creator and executive producer of Riverdale responded via social media to series regular Vanessa Morgan’s post saying she is “Tired of how black people are portrayed in Media, tired of us being portrayed as thugs, dangerous or angry scary people. Tired of us also being used as sidekick non dimensional characters to our white leads.” Said Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, “She’s right. We’re sorry and we make the same promise to you that we did to her. We will do better to honor her and the character she plays. As well as all of our actors and characters of color…Riverdale will be part of the movement, not outside it.”

Lifetime canceled plans for Abby’s Virtual Dance Off, starring Abby Lee Miller, after Miller was accused of racism. Miller apologized to Adriana Smith and her daughter Kamryn, who appeared on the show, but Lifetime scratched plans for the Dance Moms spin-off, which had been expected to air this summer, and said Miller would not be returning to Dance Moms if the show was renewed for a ninth season.

HBO renewed We’re Here for a second season. The unscripted series, which travels to small towns inspiring local residents to express themselves in a night of no-holds-barred drag, debuted April 23. “We’re here resonates in ways we had hoped for but couldn’t really have anticipated,” said Nina Rosenstein, EVP, HBO Programming. “The stories of our small-town drag daughters created an incredibly positive communal experience.”

Former FBI attorney Lisa Page has joined NBC News as a contributor. The Obama administration official gained attention when her texts with a fellow FBI employee were part of the Robert Mueller investigation.

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram took down President Trump’s video tribute to George Floyd because of images that appear during the video. When Trump objected in a tweet, calling it the removal illegal, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded, “Not true and not illegal. This was pulled because we got a DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] complaint from copyright holder.”

ViacomCBS pledged $5 million to social justice causes and set a virtual community day for June 18. “I want all of you to understand this is a sustained, ongoing commitment from our company that won’t end when the current outrage and news cycle inevitably does,” said CEO Bob Bakish in a memo to employees. “We fundamentally believe that a more diverse and inclusive company – that does business with equally diverse and inclusive partners and talent – is good for business, and our communities.”

Perry Mason, starring Matthew Rhys (The Americans), John Lithgow (The Crown) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) debuts Sunday, June 21 at 9p on HBO. The series, set in 1931 LA, is based on the characters by Erle Stanley Gardner, but “it’s not going to be the Perry Mason a number of people know and love,” noted Rhys during the ATX TV…From the Couch! virtual festival.

Jason Sudeikis (SNL) hosts TBS’s Tournament of Laughs, a comedy competition kicking off Sunday, June 21 at 10p. In the seven-parter, 32 comedians will face off in a single-elimination bracket-style tournament.

Also coming up on TBS: new reality series Lost Resort explores the world of extreme spiritual healing, starting Thursday, July 23 at 10p. The 10-episode social experiment follows nine strangers at an exotic wellness retreat.

Cowboys and ranchers search for prehistoric dinosaur fossils in new Discovery series Dino Hunt, premiering Friday, June 19 at 9p. The series brings creatures back to life by using a combination of 3D modeling and Computer-Generated Imagery to create X-ray visualizations of both the fossils and the dinosaurs.

STREAMING SCOOP

Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu and Netflix all experienced a decrease in average household minutes in May, according to 7Park Data’s May “Living Room Data” report, as stay-at-home orders loosened and the weather warmed up. 7Park also saw continued title discovery in the month, with season 1 of a title being watched in its entirety and progression through the rest of the seasons available. Dead to Me, Ozark and Bosch were all examples of the trend.

Endemol Shine Group announced the launch of three channels on Roku in the US: Reel Truth Crime, DIY Daily and Wipeout Xtra. Endemol Shine Group has also partnered with Roku in the UK for the launch of the Roku Channel.

COMING UP

MTV’s first fully self-shot special, True Life: First Time First Responders premieres Tuesday, June 9 at 9p. The special follows a team of millennial volunteers for an EMT shift in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, a film examining the life and death of the infamous attorney, debuts on HBO Friday, June 19 at 8p.

The Premier League’s 2019-20 season returns Wednesday, June 17 on Telemundo Deportes with Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United at 12:55p on the Telemundo Deportes app. Spanish-language coverage will continue to air across Telemundo, Universo and the Telemundo Deportes app featuring 36 days of live action in a 40-day stretch. PL is the third major club league to resume its season since Covid-19 shutdown.

Kabillion and Kabillion Girls Rule!, the free platforms for kids and families, will celebrate Father’s Day with dad-themed content from popular series all month.

GOING GLOBAL

Cineflix Rights has sold dark comedy series Happily Married (C’est Comme Ça Que Je T’aime) to Salto, the new streaming platform created by French broadcasters TF1, M6 Group and France Télévisions.

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Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who got married in the series finale of The Nanny (1993-1999)? Niles and C.C. Kudos to: Samantha Salvatore-WNET/NYC, Jo Ann DiPippa-The Centables/NYC, Marni C. Gold/Hawthorne, NJ, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Stephanie Ann/Chicago, Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA, Anne Wettig-Fox/LA, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
Newhart (1982-1990) wasn’t the only sitcom with two brothers with the same name. What was another? (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.)