Besides having to do all profiles virtually due to COVID-19 protocols, there has been keeping up with late-breaking news and trying to hold the usual lively debates while being socially distanced. Above, l-r: Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, and Michael Vick discuss NFL topics on the set of Fox NFL Kickoff during a 2019 show.
As 2020 Fades To Black, We Say Goodbye
This year, TVNewsCheck reported on the deaths of outstanding men and women who shaped television as actors, lawmakers, producers, business people, journalists and on-air personalities. Here’s a look back at some of those influencers.
Dawn Wells, best known for playing the girl-next-door castaway Mary Ann on the iconic TV comedy series Gilligan’s Island, died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles from complications due to COVID-19. She was 82. Wells, who was Miss Nevada in the 1959 Miss America pageant, beat out 350 actresses for the role of Mary Ann.
Exclusives
The first of the five episodes will air Monday and start with Trebek’s “powerful message about the season of giving,” producer Sony Pictures Television said in a release Wednesday.
CBS has pushed the post-holiday restart dates on several of its series back a week as COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County have surged. Production on NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and SEAL Team, all broadcast by CBS, as well as CBS All Access’ Why Women Kill and Disney+’s Diary of a Future President had been scheduled to return to production on Jan. 4 after their holiday break. All five shows will now resume on Jan. 11.
The pandemic didn’t slow down the NFL, which once again dominated Variety’s ranker of the most-watched television telecasts of the year. No surprise, of course, Super Bowl LIV was easily the top program of 2020, with 102 million viewers on Feb. 2. Actually, seven of the 10 telecasts of the year came from the NFL, and 28 out of the top 100 of the year. The other major sports leagues weren’t as lucky. Scripted series accounted for 39 of the top 100 slots, while competition series took up nine spots.
The new ownership, in partnership with Televisa, says it will enhance Univision’s digital presence, deepen relationships with Hispanic audiences and communities, and create market-defining content for the next generation of Spanish-speaking viewers. Televisa will maintain its existing ownership and the Program License Agreement with Univision. Veteran media executive Wade Davis becomes CEO of Univision.
‘MNF’ Blowout Finale Tops Quiet Monday
ABC’s Monday Night Football season finale, in which the Bills clobbered the Patriots, averaged 6.1 million viewers and a 1.2 demo rating — easily leading a super-quiet night in both measures.
Singular installments of television can have their own magic, such as the series finale of Schitt’s Creek or the anatomy of a break-in on The Crown. Clockwise form top left: This Is Us, BoJack Horseman, The Queen’s Gambit and Schitt’s Creek.
The new Netflix series Bridgerton joins a tiny but growing handful of prestige shows adapted from mass-market romance books. What took so long?
The matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals drew an average audience of 4.8 million viewers on Amazon’s Prime Video and Twitch platforms and mobile properties run by the NFL, the two teams and Verizon. Local over-the-air stations in San Francisco and Phoenix also carried the game, bringing the total audience to 5.9 million, according to the NFL.
From reboots and sequels to Oscar, Emmy and Tony winners fronting high-profile new streaming shows, The Hollywood Reporter surveys the programming that will be the talk of the town in the year ahead.
Plus, how Covid-19 has changed their industry and what trends are likely to stay.
The complete broadcast, cable and pay TV ratings ranker for 2020 in total viewers and adults 18-49.
‘Masked Dancer’ Opens Solid On Fox
The premiere of The Masked Dancer on Fox Sunday put up the best 18-49 rating for a series debut so far this season. NBC’s Sunday Night Football also looks to be headed for its biggest audience in more than a month.
Full House actor Lori Loughlin was released from the federal lockup in Dublin, California, where she had been serving her sentence for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme, the federal Bureau of Prisons today.
These are the shows (new and old) that gave us escape from the nightmare of the past 12 months.
Wonder Woman is due for yet another spin, following the Gal Gadot-led film sequel’s solid performance both at the traditional (yet not) box office and with its simultaneous release on HBO Max. Warner Bros. Pictures announced on Sunday that it has fast-tracked development on a follow-up to Wonder Woman 1984, which will be written by franchise vet Patty Jenkins (left), who is again attached to direct.
There will be no massive crowds, but plenty of music will still be on tap for New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Using a combination of television and streaming, the show will go on despite the pandemic restrictions against huge gatherings.
The New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings game on Christmas Day proved a strong lure for sports fans isolated from their typical family gatherings by the pandemic. The game drew a 10.1 demographics score and provided an NFL record performance, as Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored six touchdowns.
