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ROSIE O'DONNELL REVIVES TALK SHOW FOR ONE TIME ONLY
NEW YORK (AP) — Rosie O’Donnell is reviving her old daytime talk show for one time only and her guest list is impressive. A who’s-who of Broadway, including Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, Neil Patrick Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Estefan and Barry Manilow, plan to join O’Donnell on Sunday for a live streaming fundraiser for The Actors Fund. The show will be available at Broadway.com and livestreamed on Broadway.com’s YouTube channel.
CONAN O'BRIEN TO RETURN TO AIR, WITH AN IPHONE FROM HOME
NEW YORK (AP) — With iPhones and Skype, Conan O'Brien is going back on the air. The late-night host said he will resume putting out new episodes of TBS' “Conan” on March 30. His staff will remain at home, and the show will be cobbled together with O'Brien on an iPhone and guests via Skype. “This will not be pretty, but feel free to laugh at our attempt,” said O'Brien on Twitter. The late-night shows have shut down production due to the coronavirus pandemic to avoid congregating live audiences and large crews. Some hosts have pumped out web videos. O'Brien is the first to try to remotely mount a full broadcast from home.
The vast majority of people recover from the virus.
MINIONS MOVIE DELAYED
PARIS (AP) — Even if movie theaters are open this summer, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” will not be hitting its planned July release date. Universal Pictures says Thursday that the animated film will not be completed by July 3 due to circumstances surrounding the coronavirus. Production company Illumination says in a statement it is closing its Paris studio due to the severity of the situation in France.
COUNTRY SINGERS TO PERFORM FROM HOME FOR ACM SPECIAL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Academy of Country Music had to postpone their upcoming awards show because of the spreading coronavirus, but CBS will air a new television special featuring country stars performing from their homes. “ACM Presents: Our Country” will feature conversations and at-home acoustic performances from country artists on April 5 on CBS. Many A-list touring artists who have had to cancel or postpone tours because of the novel coronavirus have participated in online concerts on social media. The special fills the time when the ACM Awards were scheduled to be handed out before the virus forced a postponement.
TWILIGHT TIME: LONG-LOST ROD SERLING BASEBALL COMEDY ON DECK
UNDATED (AP) — To many people, Rod Serling is known as the foreboding figure who created “The Twilight Zone” television show. He gave the world the heebie-jeebies with those bizarre, mind-bending tales of cannibal aliens, talking dolls and phone calls from the grave. But not as well known is that Serling loved baseball. And thanks to a long-lost script, many fans are about to hear it for themselves. Next week, a public radio station in Cincinnati will broadcast a comedy that Serling wrote in 1955 involving the Reds and the Russians. It's a screwball romp called “O'Toole From Moscow” that features narration by Serling's daughter.
VIRUS-SHOCKED HOLLYWOOD GETS BREAK WITH STREAMING SERVICES
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sports are on hold, movie theaters are closed and so are amusement parks. But Americans held captive at home by the coronavirus can turn to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and other streaming services, outliers in an entertainment industry otherwise brought to an unprecedented standstill. One analyst says the demand for streaming services will only increase with consumers around the world stuck in place. Disney's new streaming service responded by making “Frozen 2” available earlier than planned, but so far major streamers have yet to announce major changes in their lineups or reduced subscriptions prices. Some niche streamers are extending their free-trial window from a week to 30 days.
FORMER PROSECUTOR SUES NETFLIX OVER CENTRAL PARK 5 SERIES
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein has sued Netflix and director Ava DuVernay over her portrayal in the streaming service's miniseries about the Central Park Five case. Fairstein claims in the lawsuit that the four-part series “When They See Us” defamed her by portraying her as a “racist, unethical villain.” Fairstein became a best-selling crime author after retiring from the Manhattan district attorney's office. She was dropped by her publisher and resigned from several boards she served on after “When They See Us” debuted last year. Netflix calls Fairstein’s lawsuit “frivolous." A message seeking comment was emailed to a representative for DuVernay.
'DOWNTON ABBEY' CREATOR TURNS TO THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
NEW YORK (AP) — With global soccer shut down these days, fans desperate for a fix of the beautiful game may find it from a rather unlikely source, the creator of the stately “Downton Abbey.” Julian Fellowes has created and co-written the new Netflix series “The English Game.” It's a six-part look at the origins of a onetime British gentleman's game that has become the most popular sport on the planet. The series focuses on the first full-time professional players. But this being a Fellowes project, there's plenty of drama off the pitch, too, including the rise of the working class. The series begins Friday.
WHITE HOUSE, MEDIA TEAM UP FOR VIRUS PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN
LOS ANGELES (AP) — First lady Melania Trump and top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci (FOW'-chee) will take part in public service messages aimed at informing Americans about the coronavirus. The White House says it's joining with major media companies, digital platforms and the Ad Council to share “accurate and timely information directly to the American people.” The public service campaign will direct people to coronavirus.gov, which includes centralized, updated information on the crisis. NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS and Walt Disney Television are among the companies that are taking part in the effort to inform Americans about how to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus.
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