TV News Wrap-Up: ‘One Day At A Time’ Gets Animated, ‘Social Distance’ Series is in the Works at Netflix, Fox Orders ‘Celebrity Watch Party,’ and More
The TV industry is slowing down due to the Coronavirus pandemic but thanks to very creative minds, some shows are going on in unique ways.
There are still some unfortunate happenings to report, such as the expected furlough of SAG-AFTRA employees, but much of the news items that catch our attention this week involve new content being created and coming soon to the small screen of your choice.
We also highlight the way one of the biggest TV producers, behind some of our favorite shows — All American, Riverdale, and YOU to name a few — is doing right by his employees.
It’s going to be a while before the entertainment industry is back to normal and producing regular episodes of TV. But cheer up fellow TV fans. TV professionals are creating their own light while walking through this tunnel, and we are the beneficiaries of a lot of it!
Read on for some TV news highlights of the week!
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The Television Critics Association cancels the summer press tour. The TCA’s summer press tour has been canceled, Deadline reports. A memo to members says the association is, “working with the networks to explore virtual alternatives both within the original press tour time frame and later in 2020. But, given the current state of television production, as of now, this is a cancellation, not a postponement.” The cancelation will affect public awareness of upcoming programming, but the annual event in Pasadena scheduled for January that is expected to go on as planned.
NBC’s The Voice returns Monday, May 4 with a hybrid format. Deadline reports the show will test a return to the studio with some extreme safety measures in place. The Voice will record on two sound stages, and their normal 450-member crew will be reduced to just 30 people. Employees will have their temperatures checked twice per day and receive two different bracelets to note that they are healthy enough to be on set. The crew will wear masks, and craft services will take measures for safety. Carson Daly will be hosting in a studio full of completely empty seats as coaches Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, John Legend, and Blake Shelton will be recording remotely from their respective homes. Contestant performances will be prerecorded and their conversations with coaches recorded live-to-tape. With this massive undertaking, NBC becomes one of the first networks to test a safe return to studios amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.
One Day at a Time to air an animated, election-themed episode. The show’s Season 4 return to TV on Pop TV has been put on pause as we battle COVID-19, but it’s become the latest show to find a creative way around its production going dark for now. According to The Hollywood Reporter fans can watch Lydia (Rita Moreno), Penelope (Justina Machado), Alex (Marcel Ruiz), Elena (Isabella Gomez), Schneider (Todd Grinnell) and friends on an election-themed animated episode to air sometime this spring. The special episode will feature the Alverez family discussing strategies to survive a visit from Penelope’s conservative family. One Day At A Time was only able to film six episodes of their planned 13-episode season before shutting down due to safety concerns. The unplanned mid-season finale aired April 28 on Pop.
Producer Greg Berlanti Donates $1 Million to COVID-19 Hollywood relief efforts. His production company Greg Berlanti Productions had 17 series in various stages of production when Hollywood shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Berlanti will personally donate $1 million dollars to relief efforts including $600,000 directly to his employees most in need, Deadline reports. The money will be allocated with $400,000 of Berlanti’s personal donation dispersed among organizations supporting Hollywood at this time such as The SAG-AFTRA COVID-19 Disaster Fund and The Actors Fund.
Netflix orders ‘Social Distance’ series. Hollywood sets may be dark but new content is still being created. Netflix has ordered a quarantine-inspired anthology series from the team behind Orange Is The New Black, TV Line reports. Executive producers of the show, aptly titled Social Distance include Orange Is The New Black creator Jenji Kohan, and other members of her hit prison dramedy Tara Herrmann and Hilary Weisman Graham. Graham will serve as showrunner of the series. A cast (yet to be revealed) will shoot the series from home. “Our job as storytellers is to reflect reality, and in this new, bizarre, bewildering reality we are all experiencing,” a statement from executive producers reads. They want to tell “unique, personal, deeply human” stories.
Netflix will release the final episodes of Fuller House in June. Fans only have a few more hours to spend with the Tanner-Fuller clan, with the final 9-episodes premiering on June 9, TV Line reports. “As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s going to be nuts,” Candace Cameron Bure told TV Line in December. “You have three very different women trying to coordinate one giant event together. They all see the world a little bit differently, so chaos will ensue,” Bure told TV Line of the final season, which centers around her character DJ, DJ’s sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and their friend Kimmy (Andrea Barber) planning a triple wedding.
Love, Victor premiere set at Hulu. The highly anticipated TV sequel to the hit movie Love, Simon which has bounced from Disney Plus to Hulu and been retitled Love, Victor will premiere on the latter streaming network June 19. Hulu has released a first look at the series on YouTube, featuring Victor having a very steamy interview for a barista job.
Stars set to watch TV on unscripted FOX series Celebrity Watch Party. Have you always wanted to watch TV with your favorite celebrities? Well, now is your chance. FOX is borrowing a format from the UK to entertain. Celebrity Watch Party will give viewers unprecedented access into stars’ homes as they watch TV with their families and commentate for our entertainment. The show, which borrows the idea from the UK series called Gogglebox, will premiere May 7 and has been greenlit for 10 episodes. The first episode will take us inside the homes of stars like Rob Lowe, Meghan Trainor, and Raven-Symoné, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
HBO’s The Gilded Age makes a casting change. Carrie Coon is set to star in the period drama as Bertha Russell, Deadline reports. The series will follow millionaire titans in 1880s New York City. Coon’s Bertha was born to a middle-class family but came into wealth when she married her husband, George. She wants to use her newfound status to break into a society that does not take kindly to change. Coon replaces Amanda Peet, who exited the production due to scheduling issues. The series, which will also star Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon is eyeing a fall production restart.
Cold podcast optioned to series by PatMa productions. The podcast centers around the disappearance of Morman wife and mother Susan Powell. After deciding to escape a domestic violence situation with her children, Powell disappeared, and her family’s heartbreak does not end there. Deadline reports Nina Tassler and Denise Di Novi, the owners of PatMa productions, optioned the podcast for TV because they want to tell “a very important story” about domestic abuse. (If you are in a domestic violence situation and need help call The National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.)
British coming-of-age comedy In My Skin coming to Hulu. The Hollywood Reporter revealed subscribers of the streaming service will get to enjoy the five-part BBC series June 4. Viewers will meet Bethan (Gabrielle Creevy), a teenager living a double life as she explores her sexuality and navigates her mental illness while trying to conceal her home life from her friends. The series was created by writer Kayleigh Llewellyn, who is excited to share it with an American audience. “I’m eternally grateful to the people both on and off the camera who have poured so much love and care into this show,” she said. “It’s a story close to my heart and to be able to share it on a global platform is truly thrilling.”
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What’s your favorite bit of TV news this week? Let us know in the comments below.
Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.