What's news: Rethinking FYC campaigns amid the pandemic, why theaters can make money with limited capacity, awards eligibilities tweaked, Europe begins to open for film and TV production, fresh legal trouble for TikTok, Netflix grabs Ball and Chain, a Scarface reboot. Plus: The CW sets a virus-proof fall schedule, Peacock sets its launch slate. --Alex Weprin

 Rethinking Awards Season

 Awards experts reassess Emmy FYC campaigns amid pandemic. With the TV  Academy banning the panels, parties and other events that have long been staples of the season, the pros must strategize new ways to push contenders in a fragile climate, Michael O'Connell reports: "No one wants to look promotional right now."

Quote: "There's a symbiotic relationship between TV and America, especially during this pandemic," says one talent publicist, who is still holding back on making commitments for clients. "It's a relationship worth celebrating, but nobody wants to be the first one through the wall. You might get bloodied." The story.

+Here's the first Emmys Feinberg Forecast: THR's awards columnist Scott Feinberg offers his initial assessment of 23 categories. The list of frontrunners, dark horses and potential spoilers.

+Black Mirror episode not waived in to TV movie category. Contrary to prior published reports, Smithereens, the second and standout installment of the show's three-episode fifth season, will not receive special permission to compete in the TV movie category. Instead, all three episodes will collectively compete in the best drama series category. More.

+The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is bailing out documentary features that had their Oscar eligibility plans impacted by the ongoing pandemic. This week, the Academy quietly updated the documentary rules for the 93rd Oscars, which are posted on its website, to reflect that "until further notice and for the 93rd Awards year only" doc features can qualify for Oscar consideration even if they did not "complete both a seven-day theatrical release in Los Angeles County and a seven-day theatrical release in the City of New York during the eligibility period," which was the standard for the 92nd Oscars. The story.

►Why Tenet and Mulan can succeed even if theaters dramatically slash seating. A number of box office sources who spoke with THR's Pamela McClintock say it isn't unusual for 50 percent of seats at U.S. theaters to remain empty on the weekends without dampening business overall. And last week, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek — in advocating for Mulan's release — said capacity generally runs at 25 percent Monday through Friday afternoon. The story.

►As Europe begins to reopen for film and TV shoots, safety requirements vary.  Several European countries, including traditional international production locations, such as the Czech Republic and Iceland, have allowed film and television shoots to re-start after shutdowns due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. This week, territories from Poland to Portugal also unveiled their plans to get the cameras rolling again, with new COVID-19 regulations that will allow local and international productions. Here are how different countries are approaching the matter.

+SAG-AFTRA tells members to seek approval for new work amid pandemic. The union on Thursday posted a notice to members which outlined how they "must contact the union to ensure that they are accepting work that SAG-AFTRA has evaluated and established that the producer/employer has made provision for, and met adequate health and safety standards." The story.

 New Trouble For TikTok

 TikTok may be a welcome retreat for homebound users looking to entertain themselves during the novel coronavirus pandemic — but not everyone is happy with the video app. It’s facing multiple class action lawsuits from parents of underage TikTokers and a separate complaint from advocacy groups that it’s flouting an earlier agreement with the FTC, Ashley Cullins and Natalie Jarvey report. The story.

+Appeals court urged to allow probe of MSNBC host's anti-Trump bias. Joy Reid was hauled into court for a series of posts on social media. She beat libel claims. Now, the Second Circuit entertains bold legal theories about this case, Eriq Gardner writes. The story.

+Intelsat declares bankruptcy three months after helping broadcast Super Bowl LIV. The world's largest operator of satellites must restructure thanks to the FCC's priorities and the COVID-19 pandemic, Eriq Gardner reports. The story.

►Netflix has landed another major feature. Ball and Chain— the superhero package that will reteam Jungle Cruise stars Emily Blunt with Dwayne Johnson— has landed at the streamer. The project is based on the '90s comic of the same name by Scott Lobdell, which Oscar nominee Emily V. Gordon will adapt. Johnson and Blunt will play a couple struggling in their marriage are equipped with superpowers. However, their powers only work when they’re together. The story.

►Call Me by Your Name's Luca Guadagnino has been tapped to direct Universal Pictures’ new take on Scarface. Howard Hawks directed the original, Chicago-set Scarface in 1932, which was reimagined by Brian De Palma in 1983 with a story set in the Miami drug trade that famously starred Al Pacino in the lead role of Tony Montana. The new version will be set in Los Angeles. The story.

+101 Studios plots feature about groundbreaking 1975 women's crew team. Produced under the recently launched Sports Illustrated Studios, the feature will be based on David J. Boyne's biography The Red Rose Crew. More.

►Disney's Frozen will not reopen on Broadway. In the most dramatic sign to date that even the deepest pockets on Broadway will struggle to recover from the extended COVID-19 shutdown that began March 12, Disney Theatrical Productions confirmed today that its opulent stage adaptation will not be returning to New York's St. James Theatre when the sector reopens, David Rooney writes. The story.

►How I'm Living Now: John Lithgow, actor, poet, author. Lithgow has been spending the pandemic in an easy chair in his home office in LA’s Westwood neighborhood, writing a book of verse. A followup to his New York Times bestselling 2019 satirical poetry collection, Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse, Lithgow’s Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown: Verses for a Despotic Age will go on sale October 6 and include poems about the impeachment, Rudy Giuliani, Jared Kushner and, yes, the president’s handling of COVID-19. Lithgow, who had been set to head to Morocco to shoot the new FX show The Old Man when the pandemic shut down production, spoke to THR about how COVID-19 cut short a golden age for actors, why sequestration has yielded an unexpectedly sweet phase in his life and how, at 74, he conquered the “complete mental agony” of writing. The interview.

 The CW Sets Virus-Proof Fall Schedule

►The CW holds new and returning series for January launch, sets corona-proof fall schedule. With the delay of 10 scripted originals for January — and another seven for a "midseason" that could be anywhere from April to June 2021 — Mark Pedowitz's network will turn to acquired series, including Swamp Thing and Tell Me a Story to program in the fourth quarter. Fox has pursued a similar strategy. The story.

+And The CW isn't alone in looking elsewhere to shore up its schedule. NBC has acquired a Canadian drama, Transplant, a medical drama that has delivered strong ratings for broadcaster CTV in its first season. More.

+Or you could keep milking the GOAT. ABC and ESPN are taking The Last Dance to overtime. The broadcast network will air an hourlong special called After the Dance With Stephen A. Smith: A SportsCenter Special on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, two days after the conclusion of ESPN's breakout docuseries about Michael Jordan's last year with the Chicago Bulls. More.

On streaming...

+Peacock sets national launch slate. The service, which soft-launched a month ago to some Comcast Xfinity customers, will feature nine original programs on launch day — eight series and a feature-length movie based on USA Network's Psych. The series are a mix of scripted, unscripted and kids' shows, headlined by an adaptation of Aldous Huxley's classic novel Brave New World. The story.

+Percy Jackson series in the works at Disney+. Rick Riordan, author of the book series on which the films are based, announced the plans on social media. More.

+Disney+ picks up Justin Baldoni's teen drama Clouds from Warner Bros. Fin Argus, former Disney Channel star Sabrina Carpenter and Annabelle Comes Home's Madison Iseman star in the true-life teen drama. More.

+The Good Fight renewed for fifth season on CBS All Access. CBS All Access has also set a finale date of May 28 for the shortened fourth season, which completed seven episodes before having to shut down production due to the coronavirus pandemic. More.



^Film review: Scoob! Justin Lowe writes that the animated family comedy "will offer an appealing distraction for families still stuck at home (although some of the most intense scenes may be too loud and scary for younger kids), even as it poses another test for the resiliency of theatrical windows." The review.

►Nate N Al's owner Shelli Azoff on resolving deli's lease for now, plans for takeout. The Beverly Hills institution is partially reopening on May 15 with 23 employees (down from its pre-pandemic 90 staffers) handling its reordering system. More.

►Out-of-work crew member group delivers free groceries to freelancers: "We've been programmed to adapt on a dime." Feed the Freelancers, born out of one assistant director's feelings of uselessness amid the coronavirus production shutdown, has now delivered food boxes to over 1,000 individuals and is expanding into multiple states, Katie Kilkenny reports. The story.

Revolving door: Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford is set to direct Clear Lake, the Buddy Holly biopic... Joe and Anthony Russo have signed with CAA for directing and the agency will rep the duo's AGBO film banner on a case-by-case basis. They were previously repped by WME... Dancing With the Stars pros Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson have signed with APA in all areas...

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg welcome Snowpiercer showrunner Graeme Manson and also break down how the broadcast networks are prepping their fall schedules. Listen.

In other news...

--George Miller's upcoming film Three Thousand Years of Longing has been picked up for North American distribution by MGM.

--Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a panel of broadcast stakeholders reported that they are proceeding to implement the U.S.' voluntary "Next Gen TV" broadcast transmission system, while identifying what could be potential opportunities for local broadcasters to use the new services to support their communities during the crisis.

--In-theater advertising firm National CineMedia has been hit with a credit rating downgrade from S&P Global Ratings.

--NBC's New Amsterdam, The CW's Nancy Drew and a conversation with network presidents are among the first set of confirmed panels for the at-home version of the ATX Television Festival.

--Nintendo's role-playing Paper Mario series will land on the Switch console in July. Paper Mario: The Origami King brings back the familiar plumber and his sidekick Luigi in the form of two-dimensional cut-out characters traversing a world of origami.

--PlayStation on Thursday showcased its upcoming action-adventure stealth video game, Ghost of Tsushima, during a State of Play live stream presented as part of the virtual Summer Game Fest.

--Pop TV has set a date for its animated One Day at a Time special, and it's bringing a few friends of the show along for the occasion. The episode will feature Hamilton and In the Heights creator (and ODAAT superfan) Lin-Manuel Miranda in a guest role.

--Demi Lovato and Richard Branson recently signed on to help raise funds for a new mental health fund that supports the Crisis Text Line and other groups.

--Critic's notebook: Inkoo Kang on why Ryan Murphy's Hollywood revisionism rankles.

►TV ratings: The conclusion of the 40th season of Survivor delivered the show's best finale ratings since fall 2017, giving CBS an across-the-board win Wednesday. The Masked Singer topped Survivor head-to-head in adults 18-49, retaining its No. 1 ranking in the key ad demographic. The numbers.

What else we're reading...

--"TV is the medium of our coronavirus plague year. Here are 6 reasons why" [LA Times]

--"Amazon to the rescue of the fashion world!" [NY Times]

--"Coronavirus dried up this production company’s business. Then it created remote shooting kits" [WSJ]

--"Media, regulators, and big tech; indulgences and injunctions; better approaches" [Stratechery]

Today's birthdays: Madeleine Albright, 83, Mike Oldfield, 67, Brian Eno, 72, Andy Murray, 33, Emmitt Smith, 51.