What's news: Furloughs hit Disney's film unit, the pay-TV business prepares for the worst, temp work grinds to a halt, Saturday Night Live to return, MGM ordered to hand over Apprentice tapes, ABC's Jonathan Karl talks Trump press briefings. Plus: A Tiger King follow-up special is coming to Netflix, and how Food Network and HGTV stars are adapting to quarantine life. --Alex Weprin

 Coronavirus Crunch Continues

►Furloughs hit Disney film empire amid coronavirus crisis. Disney told employees last week that it would begin instituting furloughs, with the theme parks and experiences division expected to be the hardest hit. Pamela McClintock and Tatiana Siegel report that in the company's film unit the marketing and distribution departments have been especially impacted. Disney's next release in cinemas is Mulan on July 24 (Pixar's Soul remains dated for June 19, but is widely expected to move off of that date). The story.

+Disney stock rallies: Wall Street on Thursday rewarded The Walt Disney Co. for its streaming battle success against Netflix on news Disney+ had hit 50 million paid subscribers globally. More.

►Pay TV fears even bigger subscriber losses Amid virus crisis. As sports leagues go dark and series production halts, some analysts predict cord-cutting will accelerate as the value proposition "starts to fall apart," Georg Szalai reports.

Quote: "There could initially be some benefit from the fact that people have been stuck at home, and that they are glued to cable news, but that won’t last," MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett tells THR. "The financial pressures of the COVID recession will inevitably push consumers to economize, so cord-cutting will accelerate. That will only be exacerbated by the lack of sports programming. Sports are the glue that holds the bundle together. Without sports, the value proposition for pay TV starts to fall apart." The story.

►Virus crisis closes off typical pipeline into Hollywood: Temping. Current and former short-term entertainment workers are hearing little to nothing from agencies, worry about the effect social distancing will have on industry diversity or are considering jobs at Trader Joe's, Katie Kilkenny reports: "I'm thinking I'll give it another few weeks." The story.

+Cast & Crew implements furloughs, pay cuts amid coronavirus outbreak. The company, the entertainment industry's ubiquitous payroll, accounting and human resources software brand, on Thursday announced that it would furlough "a significant percentage" of its workforce and reduce hours for remaining employees. Members of the firm's executive management team will receive a 50 percent pay cut while vps and "senior employees" will receive a 25 percent pay cut. The story.

+Animation studio Laika to keep staff on payroll amid virus crisis. "When this ends, and it will end, the world will need storytellers more than ever," Laika president and CEO Travis Knight said Thursday in a memo. More.

 'SNL' Plots Remote Return

►Saturday Night Live is returning to production... at least for one night. The late night sketch comedy will be back with a special remote episode set to air April 11 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. The series, which suspended production amid the novel coronavirus crisis, will produce new material remotely while continuing to practice social distancing. The episode will include the popular "Weekend Update" segment as well as other original content from SNL castmembers. There will not be a host. The story.

►How Food Network and HGTV lean on talent as service TV viewership surges. Discovery's lifestyle brands boss Kathleen Finch talks about arming talent with cameras, quarantine programming blocks and, yes, that massive Cosmopolitan Ina Garten made on Instagram. The interview.

►Universal Studios extend theme park closures. Universal Studios on Thursday extended is park closures through May 31. The announcement comes after The Walt Disney Co. said nearly two weeks ago that its North American theme parks would stay closed indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic. More.



►ABC's Jonathan Karl on Trump's press briefings: "He's enjoying his time in front of the cameras." The network's chief Washington correspondent is a frequent target of the president's trademark derision, but he doesn't buy it: "President Trump respects me," he tells Jeremy Barr. The interview.

►ViacomCBS launches $100 million COVID-19 relief fund. The emergency fund will be distributed by ViacomCBS to the Motion Picture & Television Fund and The Actors Fund, charitable organizations already supporting impacted industry workers. The details.

►How voice actors are building remote set-ups for working at home. Four pros explain what gear they've had to purchase in order to maintain studio-like work spaces amid the pandemic, Trilby Beresford reports: "When it has to be good, it can be a very daunting task." The story.

►How I'm Living Now: Steven Canals, Pose co-creator. Steven Canals had just wrapped filming the season three premiere of Pose, his groundbreaking FX drama with co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Now, the New York native is sheltering at home in Los Angeles with his partner, where he's been marshalling a "very active," now virtual writers' room. Canals tells THR how he's staying productive (in sweats) and refilling his creative well with Mariah Carey music video marathons, while also reflecting on the parallels he sees between the current pandemic and the HIV/AIDS crisis that inspired his show. The interview.

In other coronavirus-related news...

--The Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) is launching an online resource to help guide the industry through COVID-19 and the widespread production shutdowns it's brought about.

--Canadian broadcaster CBC has launched a Creative Relief Fund for indie content makers amid the COVID-19 crisis, with a $2 million pot.

--Jedediah Bila, who co-hosts the weekend edition of the Fox News morning show Fox and Friends, announced on Thursday afternoon that she is recovering after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

--U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved out of intensive care but remains in London's St. Thomas' Hospital with COVID-19 symptoms.

Obituaries: Mort Drucker, the iconic Mad magazine artist known for his caricatures, has died, the National Cartoonists Society confirmed. He was 91... Steve Kreinberg, a sitcom writer and producer who co-created the Fox comedy Herman's Head and worked on other shows including Archie Bunker's Place, Mork & Mindy and It's a Living, has died. He was 73...

 MGM Ordered To Hand Over 'Apprentice' Tapes

 MGM ordered to deliver unaired Apprentice footage in marketing scam lawsuit against Trumps. Journalists, litigants and even actor Tom Arnold for years have been trying to get their hands on unaired footage from The Celebrity Apprentice that allegedly incriminates Donald Trump — and on Thursday a New York federal judge ordered MGM to hand over tapes in a lawsuit over an alleged multi-level marketing scam. Whether they're those tapes remains to be seen. The story.

+Paradigm has hit back at former agent Debbee Klein's legal allegations with a detailed declaration of denial and a motion to compel arbitration. Paradigm's motion, filed this morning by Kinsella Weitzman in California's Superior Court, includes a declaration from an ex-assistant refuting allegations made by Klein. The story.

+More Judge Judy drama. Judy Sheindlin has made it clear that she intends to end Judge Judy after its 25th season in syndication, but a legal fight over her mammoth $47 million-a-year salary could spur a major showdown before a California appeals court. On Wednesday, court papers were filed indicating a battle between Rebel Entertainment and CBS subsidiary Big Ticket Entertainment is far from over. The story.

►Tiger King follow-up hosted by Joel McHale set at Netflix. The follow-up installment, called The Tiger King and I, is set to debut Sunday on the streaming platform. The aftershow will feature McHale interviewing a number of people featured in Tiger King, including Jeff and Lauren Lowe; John Reinke; Joshua Dial; John Finlay; Saff; Erik Cowie; and Rick Kirkham about what's happened since filming took place and how their lives have changed since the release of the series, which has drawn big audiences to Netflix. The story.

►"No easy solution": Filmmakers weigh risks of SXSW's Amazon offer. SXSW filmmakers who spoke with THR's Mia Galuppo, and all asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retribution, are appreciative of the festival's efforts but note that they see the potential platform as giving their hard-won independent feature away for free, with little personal return. “I love South By and I love Amazon and I love that they are trying to do something, but it feels like this might hurt the filmmakers in the end,” says a director behind one of the festival’s narrative features. The story.

►TV ratings: The series finale of Modern Family brought in quite a few nostalgic viewers, as the ABC comedy bowed out with its biggest total audience in more than three years. It also had the show's best 18-49 rating since September 2018. The big audience for Modern Family also helped Jimmy Kimmel's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire revival get off to a solid start. NBC's Chicago dramas and Fox's Masked Singer also continued their strong runs of late. The numbers.

Revolving door: AT&T has hired Ed Gillespie, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and an aide to President George W. Bush, to serve as senior executive vp for external and legislative affairs... Peter Naylor is exiting as the head of ad sales for Hulu. Naylor will become the ad sales chief for Snap Inc....

In other news...

--Saban Films has picked up the U.S. rights to Most Wanted, a crime thriller starring Jim Gaffigan, Josh Hartnett and Olivier Pilon. Saban is planning a release for this summer.

--Nickelodeon and music mogul Scooter Braun are teaming up for a preschool animated series. The ViacomCBS cable network has ordered 10 episodes of The BeatBuds, based on the popular kids' music duo of the same name.

--Fitch Ratings has downgraded the credit rating for exhibition giant Cinemark Holdings over concerns that current theater closures amid the coronavirus pandemic will last until June "at the earliest."

--Major League Baseball and Sony are launching an esports league with pro players, to benefit charity.

--Grey's Anatomy boss Krista Vernoff on Justin Chambers' exit, and the season 16 "finale."

--Debra Messing on how Will & Grace pulled off that I Love Lucy tribute episode.

--Epic Pictures will launch a gaming venture with playable horror-themed trailers. The Dread X Collection will include 10 teasers conceived by indie developers in a "game jam" format and will be available on Steam later in April. More.

--Elizabeth Chomko is set to direct an adaptation of recently released memoir Nobody Will Tell You This But Me for Bad Education production outfit Sight Unseen.

►Reviews: Inkoo Kang reviews Netflix's Tigertail... David Rooney reviews the Netflix romantic comedy Love Wedding Repeat...

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg are joined by Mrs. America showrunner Dahvi Waller to discuss the FX on Hulu limited series and also break down the series finales of two beloved comedies. Listen.

What else we're reading...

--"May upfronts week collapses as most media companies delay their virtual events" [Ad Week]

--"U.F.C. 249 is off after requests from California, Disney and ESPN" [NY Times]

--"Carole and Howard Baskin say Tiger King makers betrayed their trust" [Tampa Bay Times]

--"Seth Meyers on what it's like to do Late Night from his attic during a pandemic" [CNN Business]

--"The weirdly enduring appeal of Weird Al Yankovic" [NY Times Magazine]

Today's birthdays: Steven Seagal, 68, Mandy Moore, 36, Q-Tip, 50, Haley Joel Osment, 32, Daisy Ridley, 28.