MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020
MONDAY NIGHT TV:
THE VOICE (8p ET, NBC) — New. The blind auditions continue.
AMERICAN IDOL (8p ET, ABC) — New. Hollywood Week begins.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD (8p ET, CBS) — New. When Grover joins Calvin’s youth basketball team, Gemma finds herself at odds with some of the coaching methods.
9-1-1 (8p ET, FOX) — New. The 118 responds to a skydiving trip gone wrong.
SUPERNATURAL (8p ET, CW) — The final season continues with new episodes.
BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA (8:30p ET, CBS) — New. Bob’s ex-wife (guest star Nicole Sullivan) is admitted to Abishola’s hospital.
ALL RISE (9p ET, CBS) — New. Lola and Mark find themselves in trouble for pushing their bosses too hard in their pursuit of justice.
PRODIGAL SON (9p ET, FOX) — New. A motorcycle gang robbery turns into a murder.
SEASON PREMIERE: ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO (9p ET, CW) — Season 2 begins
HIGH FIDELITY (9p ET, Freeform) — This Hulu series comes to cable.
SERIES PREMIERE: THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA (9p ET, HBO) — Based on the novel of the same name, this new 6-part limited series focuses on an alternative American history told through the eyes of a Jewish family from New Jersey. The family watches the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, an aviator-hero and xenophobic populist, who becomes president and turns the nation toward fascism. Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector, John Turturro, and Anthony Boyle star.
THIS IS PERSONAL (9p ET, Starz) — This 2019 documentary dives into the controversy that led to a shake-up in the leadership of the Women’s March protest movement.
BULL (10p ET, CBS) — New. An expert on anthrax is accused of orchestrating a series of anthrax attacks.
MANIFEST (10p ET, NBC) — New. Grace’s pregnancy complicates the pursuit of a calling
SEASON PREMIERE: MY BRILLIANT FRIEND (10p ET, HBO) — This Italian drama, based on Elena Ferrante’s novels, returns for Season 2.
Showbiz News and Gossip
BOX OFFICE
Onward is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $10.5 million over the weekend. Total box office ticket sales were the lowest since 2001.
- Onward, $10.5 million
- I Still Believe, $9.5 million
- Bloodshot, $9.3 million
- The Invisible Man, $6 million
- The Hunt, $5.3 million
- Sonic The Hedgehog, $2.5 million
- The Way Back, $2.4 million
- The Call of the Wild, $2.2 million
- Emma, $1.3 million
- Bad Boys For Life, $1.1 million
… One year ago this week the number one movie
was Captain Marvel.
The COVID-19 pandemic has the movie industry facing a crisis the likes of which it has never seen before, with some analysts predicting that the delays of many big-budget movies and restrictions being enforced in theaters could see Hollywood lose up to $20 billion in revenue this year. The Batman became the latest high-profile project to get shut down, following Fast & Furious 9, No Time to Die, Mulan and more being delayed.
… Early projections indicate that the overall totals will mark the lowest cumulative gross since 1998. To put that into perspective, this week’s top ten earned a combined $50 million, which is a huge drop from last week’s $100 million.
Call it the opposite of “ripped from the headlines”: A rerun apparently of Law & Order’s October 8, 2003 episode titled “Patient Zero” aired on cable on Friday, featuring Jesse L. Martin, Jerry Orbach and S. Epatha Merkerson’s characters discussing coronavirus.
Here’s the episode’s description: “The investigation into the carjacking of a vehicle containing vials of a deadly virus leads the detectives on a search for the first person infected with the virus and a biochemist whose sinister motivations were driven by passion.”
Tom Hanks is full of gratitude — and Vegemite — as he and wife
Rita Wilson continue their recovery from the coronavirus while in isolation in
Australia.
In a new update posted on Instagram on Sunday, the 63-year-old actor channeled
children’s TV character Mister Rogers, who he plays in the 2019 film A
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. He wrote: “Thanks to the Helpers. Let’s take
care of ourselves and each other. Hanx.” On the show Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood, which aired from 1968 to 2001, the host told viewers that his
mother advised him to “look for the helpers” during times of trouble. • IMAGE
… Hanks also included in his post a photo of a plush kangaroo holding an Australian flag and standing over two pieces of toast smeared with thick layers of Vegemite, with a tube of it resting nearby, with a tiny plush Koala bear attached to it. Some people expressed amusement at the unusually large amount of the salty yeast extract spread, an Australian delicacy, that the actor used.
THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, LOKI TO
HALT PRODUCTION
Bosses at Marvel have decided to pause production on The Falcon And The Winter
Soldier, Loki, and WandaVision due to COVID-19. Last week The Falcon and the
Winter Soldier was put on delay, where it is filming in Eastern Europe.
FROZEN II IS ON DISNEY+
Just in time for social distancing, Frozen II has been added to Disney+, three
months earlier than planned, to provide “families with some fun and joy during
this challenging period.” The most recent Star Wars movie, The Rise of
Skywalker, has also been released earlier than planned.
DISNEYLAND TO DONATE EXCESS FOOD TO FOOD BANK DURING CLOSURE The Disneyland Resort in California announced Friday that it will donate its excess food inventory to a local food bank. The donation, to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, will include dairy, fruit, vegetables, packaged goods and banquet meals.
SYLVESTER STALLONE’S SUPERHERO MOVIE SHUTS
DOWN FILMING
COVID-19 has shut down filming of The Batman for at least two weeks, a handful
of TV shows, and Sylvester Stallone’s newest flick, Samaritan. The movie
follows a young boy who sets out to discover if a vanished superhero from
yesteryear is in fact, still alive. Unless its plans get derailed by COVID-19,
Samaritan is set to release in theaters on December 11.
AMC AND REGAL MOVIE THEATERS CUT SEATING CAPACITY OVER CORONAVIRUS
Movie theater chains are cutting back on the number of seats they’ll fill. Regal and AMC both announced plans to cut seating capacity by 50 percent as both chains make moves to encourage “social distancing,” which can largely prevent the spread of the virus.
OLYMPIAN SIMONE BILES DRAGS USA GYMNASTICS ON
SOCIAL MEDIA
USA Gymnastics tweeted out a celebratory birthday message on Sunday morning in
honor of Simone Biles — and she bounced an epic response back to the
organization. USA Gymnastics wrote: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most decorated
gymnast of all time, @simonebiles! We know you will only continue to amaze us
and make history!” Biles wrote: “How about you amaze me and do the right thing…
have an independent investigation.”
… Biles is referring to a case involving Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor, convicted of sexual abuse of over 150 women and girls. Nassar was found guilty and is now serving time in prison. However, it is alleged that USA Gymnastics turned a blind eye to the abuse and may have even enabled it.
BASIN LIFE PLANNER
- March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
- March 19: Spring begins
- March 20: International Day of Happiness
- March 26: Major League Baseball opening day – RESCHEDULED
- April 1: April Fools’ Day
- April 5: 55th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards – RESCHEDULE
- April 9: Last day of Lent
- April 12: Easter
- April 12: The first YouTube video was uploaded (2005)
- April 15: Tax deadline day
- April 20: Boston Marathon – RESCHEDULED
- April 25: White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner
- April 29: Billboard Music Awards
- May 24: Indy 500
- May 25: Memorial Day