What's news: Dick Wolf signs "largest deal in TV history" with Universal TV, including multi-season renewals for all his shows, Harvey Weinstein is directing his lawyers from his hospital bed, a Weinstein juror speaks out, coronavirus cancelations spread but AMC Theatres sees "minimal" impact for now, Hillary Clinton is planning a podcast, Crooked Media plans more podcasts. Plus: Video gaming's reboot ramp-up, and the first Candyman trailer. --Alex Weprin

 Dick Wolf's Mega-Deal

►Dick Wolf inks massive new deal with Universal TV. The procedural king has signed what sources describe as a "monstrous" new five-year overall deal that will see his Wolf Entertainment continue to create and develop new projects for the NBCUniversal-owned studio, Lesley Goldberg reports. Included in the pact are three-season renewals for all of Wolf's NBC dramas: Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med and Law & Order: SVU.

--The new pact also includes multiple series commitments for future endeavors from Wolf and his company. Sources say the overall deal plus last month's library deal with NBCU's Peacock could have a combined value of close to $1 billion. "We're confident in saying this is the largest deal in TV history," a source familiar with Wolf's dual deals told Goldberg. The story.

►Harvey Weinstein directing lawyer on next legal steps during hospital stay. Weinstein, who was convicted on Monday of two felonies, is eventually ticketed for the infirmary unit at the Rikers Island prison, but has been at Bellevue hospital since Monday after suffering from heart palpitations and high blood pressure. Weinstein will remain at the hospital, which has been staked out by local media, until the facility's doctor allow his release.

--"The Bellevue doctors will make those decisions based on their medical expertise," Weinstein attorney Arthur Aidala told Jeremy Barr. "He's feeling OK. He wouldn't be there if he was the picture of health. He didn't ask to go there. None of his lawyers asked for him to go there. It was a New York City Department of Corrections decision, that that was the most suitable place for a 67-year-old man with a laundry list of illnesses who went from being in a walker to being in a wheelchair." The story.

+Weinstein juror says verdict wasn't about #MeToo movement: "There was no message." One of the 12 people who convicted the former movie mogul of rape spoke to CBS This Morning's Gayle King on Friday. "It would be an adulteration of the process to take outside factors and have that weigh on our decision-making process and eventual findings," the juror, who went by his first name Drew, said. The story.

►Crooked Media plans podcast expansion with shows on sports, race and religion. The four new shows, which will debut in spring and summer, will join Crooked stalwarts Pod Save America, Lovett or Leave It and Keep It. Among the upcoming projects is Prisoner, a limited series about journalist Jason Rezaian's 18-month detention in Iran. The details.

+And speaking of political pods: Hillary Clinton is starting her own podcast! Her inspiration, according to Politico's Ryan Lizza? Late night host Conan O'Brien, and shock jock Howard Stern. Radio giant iHeartMedia will produce and distribute the pod, which will feature long-form interviews, similar to those done by O'Brien on his podcast.

+And speaking of iHeartMedia podcasts: The audio company has inked a first-look production deal with NBCUniversal's Universal Cable Productions. The companies will develop stories from iHeartMedia's podcasts into TV and movie concepts.



^Why scripted TV shows are becoming scarce on basic cable. As streaming platforms become the priority for dramas and comedies, traditional networks are relying on more cost-effective unscripted series to fill out schedules, Michael O'Connell reports. The story.

►Another Disney+ reboot. Eighteen years after its Disney Channel premiere, The Proud Family is getting a revival. Disney+ has greenlit The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, which is currently in production at Disney Television Animation. More.

Elsewhere in TV...

--Criminal Minds showrunner Erica Messer and Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu are teaming up on a medical drama at ABC, Triage.

--A second TV project based on the growth and crash of WeWork is in development. Apple has landed rights to Wondery's podcast WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork, with an eye toward turning it into a limited series for the tech behemoth's TV+ streaming service. Little America showrunner Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello will write and ep.

--Sharon Horgan has landed a new project at Amazon. The Catastrophe creator and star is executive producing Frank of Ireland, co-created by brothers Brian and Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Moloney. 

--Netflix is committing to more of Hasan Minhaj's weekly comedy show Patriot Act. The streamer has greenlit 7 new episodes of the Peabody-winning variety series, which add to the show's initial supersized 32-episode order that wrapped in December.

--Deborah Young reviews the Netflix series Stateless.

 Coronavirus Impact

►AMC Theatres reports "minimal" economic impact from coronavirus crisis. Exhibition giant AMC Theatres, which is owned by China's Dalian Wanda Group, on Thursday reported it swung to a fourth-quarter loss on lower U.S. theater attendance and a one-time impairment charge, even as overall revenues rose 2.4 percent.

--"As best as we can tell, the economic impact on AMC from the coronavirus has been minimal. While it's conceivable that could change, as of today, our theaters which are predominantly in the United States and northern Europe appear to have felt little or no pain," he reported. Aron added AMC is "vigilantly monitoring" reports of the coronavirus spread worldwide and is taking advice from government authorities in the U.S. and Europe, as well as from medical experts. The story.

Other business haven't been so lucky...

►Facebook cancels F8 developer conference over coronavirus concerns. Instead, Facebook says it is planning local events, videos and live-streamed content to replace the gathering. More.

+Another Disney park: In response to the worsening worldwide coronavirus epidemic, Japan's Tokyo Disney Resort will close its doors from Saturday to at least March 15. More.

+In Korea: BTS has canceled several concerts planned in Korea due to the global coronavirus outbreak. "It is unavoidable that the concert must be canceled without further delay," reads the post, which was originally written in Korean. "Please understand that this decision was made after extensive and careful consideration." More.

+In gaming: Microsoft is the latest company to drop out of next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco amid concerns over the spreading COVID-19 disease. More.

+In Italy: Italy's Far East Film Festival, an influential specialty event that brings popular Asian cinema to Europe, has postponed its April edition in response to the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus. The event's 22nd edition was scheduled to run April 24 to May 2, but will now move to June 26 to July 4.

+In fashion: Futurewear brand debuts face masks at Paris Fashion Week amid coronavirus spread.

+As for the Olympics: The games are still on as of now, but Discovery Inc. says it has insurance in the event they get canceled... Ad Age reports that here in the U.S., advertisers are holding their breath and hoping for the best...

►Khashoggi doc director claims distributors are "scared of this film." Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn hosted a screening of Icarus Oscar winner Bryan Fogel's new documentary The Dissident, which lays out the case against Saudi Arabia for the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The story.

Jordan Peele unveiled the first trailer for the horror film remake Candyman on Thursday... Richard Newby writes about the trailer's "subtle nods to the horror classic"...

+Also: The Ark of the Covenant has been located again — kind of. A prototype for the Raiders of the Lost Ark prop was spotted on Antiques Roadshow this week.

Elsewhere in film...

--How Apple's The Morning Show led Janina Gavankar to make the SXSW short film Stucco.

--Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to Persian Lessons, from House of Sand and Fog director Vadim Perelman, which had its world premiere earlier this week at the Berlinale.

--Hollywood productions spent a record $1.12 billion in the Toronto area in 2019.

--William F. White International, the Canadian film and TV production equipment rental giant, is set to open another Toronto film studio, comprising four soundstages over 181,000 square feet, for the production of new originals by Hollywood studio and streaming giants.

--Berlin market pushes for sustainability, both environmental and psychological.

 Gaming's Reboot Revolution

►Remake fatigue? Not for video games. While Hollywood creators are criticized for relying on established properties, video game developers are ramping up reboots and revivals that aim to feel "familiar yet fresh," Patrick Shanley reports.

Quote: "Just as Disney has found success in remaking animated films like Aladdin and The Lion King, [Paul Yan, co-studio head of developer Toys for Bob], sees a trend in game remakes emerging. 'There's just such a wealth of IP from back in the '80s and '90s,' he says. 'Those communities back then were more fractured and niche, so there's a bigger opportunity to open that up and be more mainstream with modern remakes.'" The story.

 Peloton and The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners, announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement to “fully settled the litigation brought last year by 14 NMPA members." The $370 million lawsuit, originally filed by the publishers last March, alleged that Peloton -- which manufactures exercise bikes that stream instructor-led fitness classes via built-in touch screens -- had used more than 1,000 copyright musical compositions without obtaining needed licenses. The story.

+Steven Seagal was charged with failing to disclose payments he received for promoting an investment in an initial coin (cryptocurrency) offering by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seagal agreed to pay $157,000 in disgorgement, which represents his actual promotional payments, plus prejudgment interest, and a $157,000 penalty, according to the SEC. In addition, the actor agreed not to promote any securities, digital or otherwise, for three years, according to the agency. More.

+Also: California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez is responding to freelance journalists' repeated criticisms of her gig economy law with new legislation... Brad Lund, the 50-year-old grandson of Walt Disney, is still fighting for his huge inheritance, and now his freedom, too. On Thursday, he filed an unusual civil rights lawsuit in California federal court...

►Cher, Barry Jenkins among stars making last-minute endorsements. As March 3 approaches — with 14 states holding primaries (including California) — previously undecided industry players from Ava DuVernay and Danny Zuker to Michael Douglas are making their picks. The story.

Casting roundup: Liev Schreiber has joined Will Smith in King Richard, Warner Bros.' true-life story of Richard Williams... Chiké Okonkwo has landed a major role in NBC's pilot La Brea... Shanola Hampton will star in NBC's comedy pilot Night School, based on the 2018 movie of the same name that starred Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish... America's Got Talent has filled out the judges' table for its 15th season. Heidi Klum is rejoining NBC's flagship summer series after a year away, while Sofia Vergara will be a new addition...

Revolving door: ViacomCBS is making some changes to its executive ranks for its digital business, promoting Julie McNamara to head of programming at CBS All Access. CBS executives Jeff Grossman, Rob Gelick and Domenic DiMeglio have also been upped to new positions... Abrams has signed a trio of TikTokers: Avani Gregg, Andre Swilley and Tayler Holder...

►TV's Top 5 podcast: This week's podcast features the second in hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg's two-part interview with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould as well as analysis of Dick Wolf's new deal, unscripted's boom and what's going on at Disney. Listen.

What else we're reading...

--"Yankees, Cubs fans are latest victims of TV sports blackouts" [Bloomberg]

--"A Royal Instagram mystery" [NY Times]

--"'Let’s burn Amber': texts allegedly sent by Johnny Depp about ex read in court" [The Guardian]

--"Gotta go fast: Why gaming IP is finally taking off in film/TV" [Matthew Ball]

--"Laurene Powell Jobs is putting her own dent in the universe" [NY Times]

Today's birthdays: Gilbert Gottfried, 65, Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket, 50, Tommy Tune, 81, John Turturro, 63.