Showbiz News & Tuesday Night TV Schedule; Simon Cowell and Ralph Lauren Donate Millions To Help During Covid-19 Crisis

The latest news and gossip from Hollywood from BasinLife.com

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

TUESDAY NIGHT TV:

NCIS (8p ET, CBS) — New. Kasie and Jimmy are held hostage in a diner after a jewelry store robbery goes awry.

SEASON FINALE: FBI (9p ET, CBS) — New. In a crossover with Chicago PD, Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) temporarily joins the team and finds her investigative methods clash with the Bureau’s.

EMPIRE (9p ET, FOX) — New. Cookie finds a shocking discovery while digging into Bossy’s finances.

TH SCHEME (9p ET, HBO) — This new documentary is an insider’s account of the college-basketball recruiting scandal that rocked the NCAA in 2017.

FBI: MOST WANTED (10p ET, CBS) — New. A former counterintelligence officer is caught leaking classified information to a foreign government and attacks his former partners.

NBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC (10p ET, NBC) — Correspondents report on COVID-19 from around the world, with experts answering viewer questions.

FOR LIFE (10p ET, ABC) — New. Aaron struggles to balance the demands of his own case with the needs of an inmate who’s fighting for the right to marry his dying girlfriend.

SERIES PREMIERE: THE SECRET OF SKINWALKER RANCH (10p ET, History Channel) — For more than 2 centuries, a ranch in Utah has been associated with strange and disturbing occurrences that defy physical reality. So a team of scientists, researchers and experts is determined to solve the mystery and reveal the secrets.

STARS IN THE HOUSE (8p ET, youtube.com/theactorsfund and StarsInTheHouse.com) — This Is Us cast members Chris Sullivan, Chrissy Metz, Mandy Moore, and Susan Kelechi Watson (plus exec producer Ken Olin, and Moore’s husband/Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith) will perform and chat.

COACHELLA: 20 YEARS IN THE DESERT (YouTube) — This year’s Coachella was postponed till fall, so this special offers two decades’ worth of music festivals past.

Showbiz News and Gossip

RALPH LAUREN DONATES $10 MILLION TO CORONAVIRUS RELIEF EFFORTS 
Ralph Lauren is giving back to those in need. On Thursday, the famous designer announced that the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation will be donating $10 million towards coronavirus relief efforts. His donation will benefit several charities and organizations, including the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which is a global effort that provides support to countries battling the pandemic, as well as the foundation’s Pink Pony Fund to ensure those suffering from cancer have the resources and care they need during this vulnerable time.

SIMON COWELL DONATES $1.6M TO HELP BATTLE CORONAVIRUS 
Simon Cowell has pledged more than $1.6 million to help charities affected by the coronavirus crisis. The music mogul said that he’s been “devastated” to hear that charities — including the U.K.’s Shooting Star Children’s hospice — are struggling to operate, and vowed to take on the $622,572 deficit faced by the organization, which he is Vice-President of.

… He also said that he would donate to other charities, and will show his support for Feeding Britain and Feeding America.

SINGER JOHN PRINE IS STABLE
Musician John Prine is in stable condition after being hospitalized with symptoms of coronavirus — though the musician’s family cautioned that does not mean he is improving. On Monday, Prine’s wife gave an update about her husband’s condition on Twitter, writing that she has also “recovered from COVID-19” following her own diagnosis earlier this month.

THE BACHELOR SUMMER GAMES’ SHELVED AT ABC DUE TO CORONAVIRUS ABC has made the decision to shelve the spinoff show The Bachelor Summer Games. The prospective series, which had yet to be officially announced, was scheduled to air during the Olympics this summer. The Tokyo games have been postponed until 2021. It’s not know whether The Bachelor Summer Games will also push to next year.

… Summer Games was supposed to be a follow-up of sorts to the 2018 Bachelor spinoff The Bachelor: Winter Games, which aired its four episodes during that year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. That series brought together Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants from around the world to a luxurious winter resort, where they went head-to-head in winter-themed athletic challenges.

GREY’S ANATOMY WILL HAVE AN EARLY SEASON FINALE 
Grey’s Anatomy will not continue shooting its remaining episodes in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Season 16 of the ABC medical drama will be shortened due to the cast and crew currently being under quarantine to protect themselves from the virus. Grey’s is the first of several shows to cut its season short this year. Prior to the series suspending production, its team had shot 21 episodes out of a 25-episode season. The 21st episode will act as the show’s season finale and will premiere on April 9 and will be titled Put On a Happy Face.

HOBBS AND SHAW 2 MOVIE IN DEVELOPMENT 
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw made $759 million worldwide last year. Those kinds of numbers usually mean that a sequel won’t be too far behind, and now star Dwayne Johnson has confirmed that Hobbs and Shaw 2 is in development.

DISNEY EXECUTIVES GIVING UP THEIR SALARIES 
All of Disney‘s senior executives are sacrificing their own salaries to help pay employees of the company who are being affected by the various shutdowns and economic disturbances caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus. Disney’s current CEO, Bob Iger, will reportedly give up 100% of his salary, while his incoming replacement, Bob Chapek, has claimed he’ll take a 50% reduction in his own. Meanwhile, VPs will see their salaries reduced by 20%, SVPs by 25%, and EVPs and higher by 30%. It’s being labeled a “temporary action” that will remain in effect for the foreseeable future as the company fights to keep its employees and financial stability afloat.

MARVEL HAS DECIDED AGAINST RELEASING BLACK WIDOW VIA STREAMING 
Coronavirus has been an absolute disaster for the movie business. The upside for stay-at-home movie fans is that a number of films have jumped to digital release earlier than planned — with some even skipping the theater. Apparently Black Widow was under serious consideration to be released straight onto Disney+ without even hitting theaters. Turns out Disney’s not planning to do that — at least not yet.

MEGHAN MARKLE’S FIRST HOLLYWOOD PROJECT POST-MEGXIT 
Meghan Markle has found her first post-Megxit entertainment gig in Disneynature’s “Elephant,” a documentary launching next month on Disney+. The studio giant announced that the film, narrated by Markle, will land on its streaming service April 3, along with a second, previously announced nature documentary, Dolphin Reef, narrated by Natalie Portman.

Meghan and Prince Harry have no plans to ask U.S. government for security resources now that they are here.  President Trump tweeted out yesterday that now that Meghan and Prince Harry are in the U.S., they’ll have to pay for their own security. The pair has been living in a secluded compound in L.A. with their 10-month-old son Archie since leaving their Vancouver Island home as they prepare to make their official royal exit on March 31.

… A spokesman for the pair said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the U.S. government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made.”

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. HAS A CAMEO IN SPIDER-MAN 3 
No one’s ever really gone. Not in the movies, at least. And especially not in Marvel movies. According to sources Marvel is planning a pretty special cameo for Spider-Man 3. It’ll be as an AI, as he continues to mentor Tom Holland’s web-slinging hero, and will only be a brief appearance as he delivers some sort of message to him.

HARRISON FORD’S THE CALL OF THE WILD IS OUT TODAY IN DIGITAL FORMAT 
One of the few positive effects of the coronavirus has been the early home video release of movies caught in the no man’s land of coming out in the weeks prior to pandemic’s disruption. One of those unlucky pictures was Harrison Ford’s The Call of the Wild. The film was released in theaters on February 21.

… The Call of the Wild is out today (March 27) in digital download format.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS FRED ‘CURLY’ NEAL DEAD AT 77 
Beloved Harlem Globetrotters legend Fred “Curly” Neal has passed away. He was 77 years old. Curly became one of the most recognizable players for the Globetrotters during his 22-year stint with the team — playing in more than 6,000 games. Curly was also featured in several of the Globetrotters’ TV specials, including The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.

IDRIS ELBA SHARES POSITIVE UPDATE ON HIS CORONAVIRUS DIAGNOSIS
Last week Idris Elba joined the A-Listers Suffering From Coronavirus Club. Wednesday night he posted an update on Twitter, in which he said being in quarantine was making him homesick, but that he’s feeling okay. After quarantine he says he’d like to go home to London.

… The actor has also hit back against those who claim that his diagnosis is a lie. In an Instagram Live he said, “Test-shaming is, like, counterproductive. I don’t see what people get out of that. And also, like, this idea that someone like myself is gonna be paid to say I’ve got coronavirus — that’s absolute [b.s.], such stupidness.”

MARK BLUM, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN STAR, DEAD AT 69 FROM CORONAVIRUS COMPLICATIONS 
Mark Blum, a character actor known for playing a number of notable roles across stage and screen, has died due to complications associated with the novel coronavirus. He was 69.

GEORGE HARRISON’S FOUNDATION DONATES HALF A MILLION TO COVID-19 RELIEF 
George Harrison’s Material World Foundation has donated $500,000 to COVID-19 relief. The foundation — started by the late Beatle in 1973 with the release of the LP Living in the Material World — donated the funds to MusiCare’s COVID-19 Foundation, Save the Children, and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

ACTRESS LAURA BELL BUNDY TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS 
Laura Bell Bundy has tested positive for coronavirus. The How I Met Your Mother, Hart of Dixie and Anger Management actress revealed her diagnosis on Instagram.

NBCUNIVERSAL CEO HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS 
Jeff Shell, NBCUniversal’s recently appointed CEO, has tested positive for coronavirus. In a memo to staff, Shell said he was diagnosed with the virus despite being asymptomatic. He told employees that he will self-quarantine and work from home indefinitely while he recovers.

COVID-19 PUSHES UP INTERNET USE AND STREAMING 
The first internet streaming and usage figures are coming in as the coronavirus pandemic places a quarter of the world’s population under lockdown. As millions of people go online for entertainment and more, total internet use has surged by between 50 percent and 70 percent. Streaming has also jumped by at least 12 percent.

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