I’m Tracy Au and I have a 2 year diploma in Professional Communication from MacEwan University. I am an aspiring screenwriter, so this blog is used to promote my writing and attract people who will hire me to write for your TV show or movie.
I post a lot of articles about jobs, entertainment (TV, movies, books), news, and my opinions on it. I also write about my daily life. I have another blog promoting my TV project at www.thevertexfighter.blogspot.com.
Friday, May 14, 2021
"TV Has Mostly Stopped Production. What Happens Next?"/ "Oklahoma restaurants cover walls with prepaid receipts for anyone who needs a meal"
Mar. 18, 2020 "TV Has Mostly Stopped Production. What Happens Next?": Today I found this article on MSN.com:
As production grinds to a halt amid a global pandemic, the television industry, like nearly every other, is navigating unchartered territory.
And while there are many more questions than answers, The Hollywood Reporter polled all corners of the business to try to get a read on where everything is — and is headed. What, for instance, will come of the traditional TV season?
How about the 60 broadcast pilots that are suddenly on hold?
And what about a potential writers strike, which was supposed to be the thing that stopped production this spring?
In every case, writers, reps and executives — all experimenting with virtual providers like WebEx and Zoom for the first time — would only speak on the condition of anonymity given the rapidly changing nature of our current world.
What does shutting down really mean?
Two types of "shutdowns" have emerged.
The first, impacting mostly broadcast shows, refers to the abrupt end to a season. So, you'll have hours and half-hours that will not resume production on the one or more episodes that remained of their current seasons.
For series that will be renewed, or in some cases already scored early pickups, the outstanding episodes will likely be "rolled" to the 2020-21 season, whenever that begins (more on that later).
The downside for viewers: the shows that hadn’t yet completed their seasons will not wrap up storylines or have traditional finales this spring — and those that won’t be renewed will end prematurely, potentially limiting their ability to sell or stream elsewhere.
The second type of "shutdown" can be thought of as a hiatus, which is more typical of cable and streaming shows that don’t adhere to a strict calendar the way broadcast does. Take Fargo, which will simply shift its planned premiere, previously set for April 19, later in the year since it had two episodes of 10 outstanding when the outbreak forced a stoppage. Doing so isn’t without fallout here, too. Consider this: Fargo had been a key piece of the network’s 2020 Emmy strategy, with Noah Hawley's award-winning series expected to be a major contender in the limited series category.
Can all of these shows just pick up where they left off?
Resuming production on halted shows won’t be quite as easy as it sounds. Given the demands of the Peak TV era, sound stages and crews are already booked out several months, even years, in advance; and the same can be true of writers, actors and directors, who increasingly commit to other projects during their respective hiatuses.
"It's all going to be dictated by time," a top cable exec says of which productions will resume and when. The exec also notes that some projects could be pushed an entire calendar year as they're forced to navigate production space and talent availability. Several studios are already in conversations about extending the options on casts for bubble shows and broadcast pilots from the standard June 30 expiration date.
According to multiple sources, some outlets are said to be mulling ways in which they can resume production and still adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's current recommendation to avoid larger gatherings for the next eight weeks. Those include filming in shifts, with one reduced staff department completing its work, and the next group coming in afterward. Such a plan has been discussed for American Idol, which, at press time, had its live show episodes around the corner.
And what about in the interim?
Many studios will have to decide how long they can hold productions before moving off of a planned delivery date or, worse, scrapping productions entirely. "Holding sets, locations and a crew, that's a lot — and it's expensive," notes one senior studio source. In other cases, shows have already wrapped physical production but are now tied up in the postproduction process, which can also entail working in large groups. Several postproduction and VFX houses are still said to be operation as they rush to deliver final assets.
A silver lining: plenty of shows have been quietly stockpiling scripts already in anticipation of a possible Writers Guild strike. (Sources say an extension of the current deal, set to expire April 30, is more likely given the current landscape.) In fact, many broadcast writers rooms had remained open after completing work on their 2019-20 seasons and were already prepping scripts for the upcoming season. Those (now virtual) rooms are still up and running, with many execs surveyed by THR singling out how that same strike prep could ultimately help everyone down the line should the production pause continue beyond the previously announced two to three weeks.
So, what happens to all of the pilots?
Most of the 60 drama and comedy pilots being made across the five networks had only recently begun production, and all of them have since shut down. That creates a larger quandary for broadcasters who are tied to the September-to-May television season.
As of now, all five networks are still scheduled to present their fall schedules to deep-pocketed ad buyers, albeit with digital upfront presentations, the week of May 11. But what exactly are they presenting? At least for the time being, the week of May 11 is the earliest production could resume, presuming studios adhere to the current eight-week CDC recommendation (which, like everything else, is subject to change).
In the interim, some networks are already toying with the idea of adopting a cable or streaming model, whereby they pick up high-profile pilots straight to series based on the collective strength of the script, auspices and cast. Another option being discussed is ordering showrunners to open virtual rooms in an effort to get ahead on scripts and, in success, be able to begin production as soon as it's considered safe. Funds that were previously earmarked for production could be redirected to pay for those additional scripts. (ABC, in a new strategy, has already opened writers rooms for a number of its drama pilots, including its Thirtysomething update.)
And how about the season as we know it?
Multiple insiders say that should production resume mid-May, Premiere Week — starting Sept. 21 — would likely still happen, though new shows could be delayed. And if production is delayed beyond May?
"January may become the new September if we lose three months of production," says one veteran exec. Should that happen, that would likely mean fewer new series and a reduction in the number of episodes ordered.
As for what will line the schedule, many suggest bubble shows now have a sizable advantage. After all, these are programs that networks have already spent millions to license and market, and, almost as important, see as a known quantity.
"Shows you'd have said 'no' to in May are now looking good because it's stability in a time of change," says one source. Another option that, per sources, could be considered is having unscripted programs previously earmarked for summer held for fall.
The one thing everyone seems to agree on: If the shutdown lingers for more than a few months, TV production will be the last of anyone's concerns. "Three months, we can keep development robust," says another executive, one of many who is now fielding pitches over virtual conference calls. "If this is an eight-month scenario, then we're all living in The Walking Dead and it's sustenance living."
Does the world really care that the TV seasons may be screwy.
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Erik_Chapman
Here's a suggestion, put together casts and crew that have already had the virus, which could include other celebrities that have had it including out of work athletes. Could have some interesting unusual combinations possible that you wouldn't normally think of. So Tom Hanks should be clear soon. If everybody in a group has developed immunity the same considerations for group gathering shouldn't apply.
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Chris227
Reruns
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arthur mcmanusLeader
Some or all of the less enlightened, could actually read a non fiction book(s), if that doesn't cut it, then get some exercise. No more szhit TV, of all the humanities, what will we do!
Mar. 17, 2020 "Cancellation Watch: The Renewal Chances for Emergence Have Suddenly Improved":
Production on pilots has mostly stopped and I’m not sure if any were completed to the point that network execs could decide if they are good candidates to join the schedule. When production resumes, that will almost certainly be past the point when the networks will have set their lineups for the coming season (the Upfronts are currently planned for the week of May 11th). So that will leave the network’s with slots to fill across the Prime Time hours. The easiest way to fill those is to just bring back existing shows from the current season.
Apr. 28, 2020 "Why Your Favorite Bad Show Probably Won’t Be Canceled This Year – Even by Low TV Ratings":
In a normal year, TV executives would be working some serious late nights right about now, deciding the fall fates of existing primetime shows while weighing shiny new options in fully produced pilot form. This is not a normal year.
This spring, there are (pretty much) no pilots. Thanks to COVID-19, there are also no upfronts, the week when broadcasters hype up their returning and freshman series for potential advertisers. What there is instead is an opportunity for shows that might have been canceled any other year to give it (at least) one more go on network television.
Take Fox’s “Outmatched,” for one example. The Jason Biggs-led comedy has almost no buzz, averages a weak 0.8 rating among adults 18-49, including one week of delayed viewing, and has a 22% critics’ rating on RottenTomatoes. There is no reason “Outmatched” should have a chance at a second season — but it actually does.
Any other season, “Outmatched” would be well, outmatched, by any average replacement sitcom ready to shoot Episodes 2 through 22 — or whatever the individual order would be in this fluid media landscape, highly contagious germs or no highly contagious germs.Since almost none of those exist this year, and considering “Outmatched” has a cast, an existing writers’ room and a fully staffed crew, sets built, and, to some small extent, a built-in audience and some general awareness among TV viewers and media buyers, we may get more of the dumb-parents-get-walked-all-over-by-genius-kids show.
You don’t have to be a Mensa member to see the value in an existing series renewal over picking up a sight-unseen pilot to series simply based on one or possibly two scripts. Even an on-screen Biggs and his TV wife Maggie Lawson can see why these bubble shows would be extra enticing this time around.
Per Deadline, the cancellation came after delays in starting production — related to the COVID-19 pandemic — meant that the show would not be ready to launch this fall. ABC had planned to return Stumptown to its Wednesdays-at-10/9c time slot.
ABC Signature, which produces the series, reportedly will shop the show to other networks and/or streaming sites.
The series is the latest of several recent renewal-reversals, including Comedy Central’s Drunk History and Tosh.0, TruTV’s I’m Sorry and Netflix’s The Society.
May 7, 2021 My opinion: May is an interesting time for TV. There are all the season finales, cancellations, and renewals, and "upfronts" as in new TV shows coming out in the fall or next year.
If you want to know if your TV show is renewed or cancelled, then type in the TV network and TV season year like 2020-2021 onto the internet and you will get tvseriesfinale.com that will rank where your show is:
I typed in "lowest rated shows on ABC 2019-2020", and you look at the 18-49 demo, and Emergence and Stumptown are the lowest rated shows on the network.
May 6, 2021 "Oklahoma restaurants cover walls with prepaid receipts for anyone who needs a meal": This is so sweet:
Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch hasn't been to northeastern Oklahoma.
Several restaurants across a handful of small cities and towns have started covering their walls with meal receipts. Customers are invited to prepay for a meal for someone else and hang the receipt on the wall. Then anyone can come in, grab one, and order some grub, no questions asked.
"It's definitely taking a huge leap forward. We've had to expand into having two walls — so the entire front of our restaurant at the moment on the inside is covered with tickets," Jennifer White told As It Happens host Carol Off.
White's restaurant in Miami, Okla., The Dawg House, was the first in the area to enact the food sharing program, and since then it's taken off.
"Within about six hours of starting the wall, we had another restaurant in town that jumped on it and started the wall there. And then next, a third restaurant actually started their wall as well," she said. "So we've kind of provided as a community three different places that people can go and get a hot meal."
People who want to use the receipts can do so discreetly, she says, by simply ordering their meal at a table and letting the wait staff know.
White estimates The Dawg House has given away more than 1,000 meals since they started in February. "And we only have eight tables in our restaurant, so that's something really awesome," she said.
Is the vaccine safe?: I was at the Shoppers Drug Mart FAQ:
Vaccine development is usually a long process and can take several years. However, the new COVID-19 vaccine was developed and approved for use in a matter of 8 months. This rapid timeline may sound alarming, but it was possible due to the large amount of funding, time and effort spent on research.
New vaccines go through different stages before being approved: preclinical trials and clinical trials (phases I, II and III). Preclinical trials involve testing the vaccine in cells and in animals. During phase I of clinical trials, the vaccine is given to a small number of healthy people. In phase II, the vaccine is given to more people who fit the characteristics of the intended target population. In phase III, the vaccine is given to thousands of people (usually 1,000 to 3,000) to test for effectiveness and safety.
The COVID-19 vaccine underwent the same rigorous testing as any other vaccine, but was fast-tracked by completing many stages at the same time. This means that all the usual safety checks were performed and completed simultaneously, rather than separately, saving a lot of time. The phase II/III trial of the new COVID-19 vaccine also had over 43,000 participants, which is far more than normally required.
My opinion: That's really good that a lot of doctors and scientists put all their time, effort, and money towards a big and important goal.
May 9, 2021 "Companies entice vaccinated Canadians with freebies, discounts": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on CTV News:
TORONTO -- Canadian companies are trying to move the needle on COVID-19 vaccinations with discounts and freebies for customers who show proof they've received their first dose.
Insurers, food businesses and even tech companies are unveiling promotions aimed at convincing people to get the jab in exchange for savings and giveaways.
Experts say the offers lend corporate clout to an important cause, but also encourage consumers to return to favourite shops or discover new and local brands amid temporary lockdowns.
Vaccine-related promotions are being used by Canadian companies including Sombrero Latin Food.
The grocery purveyor is offering Latin American candy to people who post a vaccine selfie or help relatives or neighbours book appointments, but stresses that vaccination is a "personal decision" and the promotion is not meant to pressure people.
May 11, 2021 "U.S. to offer free Uber, Lyft rides to vaccine sites": Today I found this article by Josh Wingrove and Justin Sink on Bloomberg News:
President Joe Biden is set to announce new efforts to get Americans vaccinated, including an expansion of free rides from Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to get shots and a partnership with community colleges to administer vaccines, the White House said.
Lyft and Uber will offer free rides through July 4 to anyone going to get vaccinated in the U.S. It’s an expansion of programs they were already providing to some low-income users in cooperation with pharmacies and non-profits.
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