What's news: Cops canceled after more than 30 years, HBO Max temporarily pulls Gone With the Wind, AMC Theatres details plans to reopen in July, entertainment giants reckon with race in internal town halls, is there an entertainment IPO boom on the horizon? Disney developing a Lionel Richie musical. Plus: THR's Drama Actor Roundtable, and a review of Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods. --Alex Weprin

 THR Drama Actor Roundtable

On the cover: Patrick Stewart, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Kieran Culkin, Daveed Diggs, Tobias Menzies and Bob Odenkirk talk race on TV, getting in shape for nude scenes and seeking early happy hours (and therapy) during lockdown for THR's first-ever virtual Drama Actor Roundtable: "These are the questions we ask ourselves in the political moment we're in."

--Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: "The thing about [HBO's] Watchmen is that if you watch it any time in the past 60 years and even further, it's going to be relevant. I [spoke to someone] yesterday, and they said, "It's really relevant now, right?" And I said, 'Well, actually, Watchmen is 60 to 70 years late.' So that's kind of sad. It's chilling. The time is always now to make content that is going to make people uncomfortable, and, for as long as we'll be around, I believe that Watchmen will be relevant. Hopefully it becomes relevant in a way that causes us to look back and remember what we came out of."

--Patrick Stewart: "There was a supporting role [many years ago] that I was really eager to have a go at, and I finally met the director, and he was lovely, but he said, with a smile on his face, 'Patrick, why would I want Jean-Luc Picard in my movie?' That had a bad, bad impact on me for a long time afterward. I thought, 'Oh my Lord, is this it?' Has that happened to anyone else?"

--Daveed Diggs: "I am being followed by the specter of [Hamilton's] Thomas Jefferson — probably for the rest of my life, which is weird. To have that particular slave master chasing you is intense. Even in my limited distance from that, I get the impetus to try and do everything in your power to do something that is not that. And there is a point in every meeting where you start to get the feeling that maybe what they are looking for is, 'Thomas Jefferson in outer space,' or something, and it's always disheartening. (Laughter.)"

Here's THR's Drama Actor Roundtable.



^Cops canceled at Paramount Network. The ViacomCBS-owned cabler had removed the long-running show from its schedule in the wake of nationwide protests following the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25. Now, the network says it's dropping the show altogether. Paramount Network's forerunner, Spike TV, picked up Cops in 2013 after it ended a 25-season run on Fox. The story.

+Gone With the Wind was pulled from HBO Max. Long considered controversial for its depiction of Black people and its positive view of slavery, the film faced renewed scrutiny after an op-ed by 12 Years A Slave screenwriter John Ridley published in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. HBO Max said Gone With the Wind will eventually return to the service with a "discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions" of Black people and slavery. The story.

+Netflix, BBC pull U.K. comedy Little Britain over use of blackface. Netflix told THR that the show — which first aired in 2003 on BBC Three — had been removed from the platform on Friday alongside Come Fly With Me, the comedy follow up from Matt Lucas and David Walliams (and one also featuring characters using blackface). "There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review,” added a spokesperson for the BBC. “Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer." The story.

+Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay demands franchise address "systemic racism." Lindsay — the first and only Black lead on The Bachelor franchise since its 2002 debut — shared an emotional blog post, promising to "disassociate" from the show if action is not taken to diversify its mostly white casting. More.

+Meanwhile, Netflix on Wednesday launched a curated Black Lives Matter list of movies and TV shows, including Spike Lee's new film Da 5 Bloods (read the review below). More.

 AMC Theatres Details Reopening Plans

►AMC Theatres discloses $2.17 billion quarterly loss amid pandemic closure. However, the company also detailed its plans to reopen, saying it expected to be just about "fully open globally" in July, timed to the releases of WarnerBros. tentpole Tenet, and Disney tentpole Mulan. AMC will also offer older films to fill space ahead of the launch of the new films. 

--About the Universal Pictures dispute: The company said that no Universal films are currently on its calendar (the next major release from the studio isn't until October), but on the earnings call CEO Adam Aron told analysts "Relations are warm with Universal. There's nothing personal with this issue with Universal. This is just an issue about money. … We'll see how it all shakes out." The story.

+What did the analysts think? Some lowered estimates, while a couple of others increased their target prices as the theater chain prepares to reopen. B. Riley FBR analyst Eric Wold cut his estimates and told investors: "We remain cautious on the company's outlook as well as that of the industry ahead of theater re-openings in the coming weeks." And Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter argued: "The currently announced release slate appears overly optimistic, and we believe the probability of re-shuttering theaters and further release slate delays present real risks." More.

+Another July release: Sony's Broken Hearts Gallery on July 10. The rom-com, from Stage 6 Films, will be the first new title from a major Hollywood studio to unfurl in theaters since the coronavirus pandemic forced them to go dark in the latter part of March. Several weeks ago, indie studio Solstice Studios announced that the Russell Crowe thriller Unhinged will open on July 1. More.

►"This is our turning point": Hollywood reckons with race in town halls, at protests. From candid corporate forums to the unlikely sight of agents protesting on the streets of Beverly Hills, there's a new introspection and engagement among creatives and executives, Rebecca Keegan reports: "This has to be a moment … where people in power make themselves uncomfortable." The story.

►Studios should flag scripts for harmful stereotypes with a "bigotry pass." Just as there are reviews for obscenity or intellectual property concerns while balancing free expression, an evaluation for damaging tropes should be standard practice in film and TV, writes Harvard Law School professor Alan Jenkins in a guest column. The column.

 Could An IPO Boom Come Soon?

►An entertainment IPO boom ahead? "There is good logic." Warner Music's stock market debut may usher in a series of public offerings from global firms focused on streaming and music, Georg Szalai reports. "For now, we are returning to some form of socioeconomic normality," says Mark Mulligan, music industry analyst at MIDiA Research. "So from that perspective, there is good logic for why to IPO now." The story.

►Lionel Richie musical All Night Long in the works from Disney. Pete Chiarelli, who worked on Crazy Rich Asians and Now You See Me 2, is writing the original script that will center on Richie's expansive songbook. More.

►Russell Westbrook to executive produce Terror in Tulsa docuseries for Blackfin. The NBA superstar is backing the latest TV treatment of the infamous Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, ahead of its 100th anniversary next year. More.

►David Rooney reviews Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods, writing that "the film's timeliness is uncanny." "Lee penned the script with his BlacKkKlansman co-writer Kevin Willmott, based on a screenplay by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo, and the director wastes not a second before taking a cold plunge into his real subject — the broken promises made to black Americans,"Rooney adds. "A stunning collage of clips and photographs opens the movie, set to [Marvin] Gaye's "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," one of six tracks used from the artist's 1971 What's Going On album, their lyrics so trenchant they could have been written yesterday. The review.

►Disney is hosting yet anther sports league. Major League Soccer will resume its season July 8 after being halted due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Dubbed the "MLS is Back Tournament," the season will resume at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, Disney and MLS announced Wednesday. All 26 MLS clubs will participate in the competition, which is a continuous schedule of 54 total matches occurring nearly every day, which will count in the 2020 MLS regular season standings, according to Disney. More.

►A few notable revolving door moves: Stephen Lighthill was elected president of the American Society of Cinematographers, succeeding Kees van Oostrum, who has led the organization since 2016 and reached his term limit... Veronika Kwan Vandenberg will join Universal Pictures as president of international distribution, replacing industry veteran Duncan Clark, who will be stepping down in August after 14 years with the studio and more than five years in his current role... Jennifer Todd and Michael De Luca's joint credits include the Austin Powers movies and the 89th and 90th annual Academy Awards telecasts. Now, the duo are set to reteam with Todd inking a first-look deal with MGM, where De Luca is the recently instated chairman of the film group...

►Charlie Chaplin filmed here: Campaign aims to make Hollywood alley a historic landmark. A silent-movie historian is seeking recognition for a byway where Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd filmed part of their respective classics: The Kid, Cops and Safety Last, Gary Baum reports. The story.

►21 new shows that could break through in the Emmy comedy and drama races. THR surveys the brand-new shows that could land in the slots vacated by Game of Thrones and Veep. "I think there are some givens, in terms of nominations, but it's pretty wide open right now," TV Academy president and COO Maury McIntyre tells THR. "Even in 2019, Fleabag came out of nowhere." With that beloved Phoebe Waller-Bridge series also wrapped up, there are plenty of freshman series hoping for an out-of-nowhere nomination and, maybe, even a win. The list.

►TV ratings: NBC topped all three hours of primetime among adults 18-49 on Monday, with The Titan Games matching its rating from a week ago and leading all shows on the broadcast networks. ABC's Bachelor retrospective show, meanwhile, got off to a modest start — as is to be expected from a clip show. The numbers.

In other news...

--Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, more stars rally support for L.A.'s Black-owned businesses.

--Wild Bunch, one of Europe's leading indie production and distribution companies, has secured a much-needed line of credit that should help the company's efforts to restructure its debt.

--Leading LGBTQ non-profit organization the It Gets Better Project unveiled Tuesday a three-day event, called "It Gets Better: A Digital Pride Experience," featuring young talent from the health, music, gaming, fashion and beauty industries.

--UTA Artist Space has launched its first virtual exhibition amid the coronavirus pandemic. Starting today and running through July 3, the venue will host Renaissance: Noir, featuring paintings by 12 emerging Black artists on its website.

--Josh Trank on making peace with the negative Capone reviews.

--In-store sales at retailer GameStop dropped 30 percent during the three months that ended May 2, a period during which the company close all of its 3,500 U.S. locations due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

What else we're reading...

--"One America News, the network that spreads conspiracies to the West Wing" [NY Times]

--"‘We’ve seen the tide turn’: Publishers benefit from revenue upticks from Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat video" [Digiday]

--"Kirsten Dunst has been cleaning up carcasses. How’s your quarantine going?" [LA Times]

--"Roger Goodell’s Black Lives Matter moment is a sign of Trump’s weakness" [New York magazine]

--"You’ve shared your Netflix password with your entire family. Now you can’t watch Netflix." [WSJ]

Today's birthdays: Bill Burr, 52, Faith Evans, 47, Prince Philip, 99, Bobby Jindal, 49, Sasha Obama, 19.