It’s back to business as the entertainment industry adapts to its “new normal” and makes some solid decisions about its immediate future. While network heads sit in their basement offices making tough decisions about what to do with next season’s schedule, streaming services were bought up (and are buying up) as even more competition launches, and completed films were acquired with certainty.
WATCH THE FILMS THAT INSPIRED OSCAR® WINNER BRAD BIRD
This year’s special guest curator on Turner Classic Movies’ The Essentials series is Oscar-winning writer and director Brad Bird, the man responsible for Pixar films The Incredibles and Ratatouille, as well as sci-fi childhood classics The Iron Giant and *batteries not included. Now, every Saturday you can watch a conversation between Bird and TCM host Ben Mankiewicz about why that week’s film is a classic and how it inspired Bird’s own work—then enjoy the movie in its entirety. The series kicks-off this Saturday with Singin’ in the Rain and continues with an eclectic mix of films from Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole (which is shockingly relevant today) to Charlie Chaplin’s silent romantic comedy, City Lights. The Washington Post also recently sat down with Bird to ask which movies directly influenced his animated filmography. It’s always worth learning how creators draw inspiration from the works of others, and this is a great opportunity to not only see what makes a great writer click, but to then follow in their footsteps by watching the films yourself.
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO PILOT SEASON?
Here’s a quick crash course in network television: it works in cycles. The four big networks all hear pitches over the same time period, order scripts over the same time period, and they all film pilots over the same time period. And, finally, they all make series orders over the same time period. Much has been made about this all-for-one attitude to pilots and the wisdom of only developing shows in set cycles. How many failed shows were rushed into production when they could have been great with a little more development? How many bad shows were ordered because there was nothing better on the slate? Well, now networks may rethink how they operate moving forward following the shut-down of American production, which occurred before any of this year's pilots could be filmed. Actually, Chuck Lorre managed to complete production on CBS's B Positive that will likely get a series order by default of being the only pilot that exists. But with no other pilots completed and a need for new shows to fill the fall schedule, networks may have to give out series orders based on the strength of scripts and attachments, or even renew shows that were considered “on the bubble” because while they were probably going to get axed before, now they’re the safer bet. And that’s only if production can resume in time for the fall broadcast schedule.
PARKS AND RECREATION RETURNS FOR A SPECIAL CHARITY EPISODE
When Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur sent out an email to the cast members of the cult NBC sitcom asking if they would be interested in taking part in a new episode to raise funds for Feeding America, he wasn’t sure what kind of response he would get. Thankfully for sitcom fans, they all got back to him within 45 minutes and the show will return for a special episode that finds Leslie Knope trying to stay in touch with the gang amidst social distancing. The episode will air this week and reunites not just the cast, but members of the writing staff as well who all worked together on the episode. This is the perfect balance of networks needing content to fill their schedules, people trying to stay busy while working from home, and celebrities in a position to raise money and awareness for COVID-19 relief efforts. While this is a one-off special for charity, I imagine it will inspire other writers and producers who are looking for ways to create material during a time when all filming has to be done remotely. Expect to see many more creative ideas airing on a television near you soon.
NETFLIX GOES ON A BUYING SPREE AFTER ADDING 15 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS
Netflix had a huge quarter by adding an extra 15 million subscribers, thanks to most of the world being quarantined in their homes looking for entertainment. And with 15 million new eyeballs on its service, Netflix is going to have to deliver brand-new, exclusive content for them to watch. This week alone, Netflix made two big deals for new movies to go directly to the streaming service. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne teams with Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer and Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown in the potential franchise feature Enola Holmes, based on the Nancy Springer series about Sherlock Holmes’ teenage sister who solves mysteries of her own. It also spent a reported $20 million dollars to win the rights to Matt Harris’s The Starling, based on a finished script and a sizzle reel. The movie will star Melissa McCarthy and Kevin Kline. Both films have completed production, which made them valuable targets for the many competing services that need fresh films and TV shows to keep subscribers happy while filming on their current productions remains halted.
STREAMING ACQUISITIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS COME FAST AND FURIOUS
Lastly, here’s your barrage of streaming news that went down this week. Fandango bought Wal-Mart’s streaming service Vudu, just as Fox announced it has finalized its purchase of Tubi. While the Fandango news may seem weird, you need to dig a little deeper for it to make sense. Fandango is owned by NBCUniversal, which is a subsidiary of Comcast. Comcast just did a soft launch of Peacock, its own streaming service that will have paid and free tiers. Fandango's purchase of Vudu keeps the AVOD service out of the hands of competitors. Now that Fox has sold its studio and production arms, it needs a streamer of its own, and Tubi was one of the last remaining independents. On top of all this, AT&T announced that HBO Max is still launching on May 27th. It will not launch with the high-profile Friends reunion as originally planned, but will be the exclusive home to the entire Friends catalog, as well as material from AT&T-owned properties like HBO, Warner Bros., the DC Universe, Audience Network, TBS, TNT and TCM.