What's news: Could premium VOD become film's "new normal"? Hillary Clinton talks Hulu, Facebook and more, moviegoers cautious about a return to theaters, SAG-AFTRA issues Do-Not-Work order for Michael Bay thriller, SAG Awards postponed, Banijay closes Endemol Shine acquisition, MTV eyes a Clone High reboot. Plus: The Great renewed, The Kominsky Method gets one more season, Conan O'Brien will be the first late-night host to leave home. --Alex Weprin

 Film's "New Normal"?

►Ready to watch more theatrical releases from home? How COVID-19 could spark a tectonic shift to premium VOD. As even the year's most anticipated films face uncertainty at the box office, studios are exploring if premium video-on-demand titles could be the new business model, Scott Roxborough reports.

--"The old system of releasing films in restrictive windows — theatrical, VOD, home entertainment — was a model that worked extremely well for people until corona threw a huge wrench in it," Ben Johnson, CEO of digital marketing group Gruvi, said June 23 at a Cannes Marché du Film Online panel, one of the virtual events held in place of the canceled film festival. "Now we have a new normal." The story.

+Moviegoers cautious about returning to theaters immediately upon reopening. Only 20 percent of Americans say they are likely to go to a movie theater in July, according to a new Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult poll examining the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Hollywood feels much the same way, and in recent days pushed a handful of films set to open this month into August, including Tenet and Mulan (the former opens July 31, but is considered an August title). The story.

►Awards Chatter podcast: Hillary Clinton (Hulu's Hillary) speaks with Scott Feinberg for the latest episode of the podcast. The polarizing trailblazer who has had a front row seat to — and personally shaped — American history over the last 40 years lets loose about sexism, conspiracy theories and Trump (including how she'd fare against him if she was on the ballot in 2020 and whether he should be locked up).

--"We are divided by sources of information... If you create algorithms for Facebook, controversy drives more clicks, conspiracies are just manna from Heaven, they will get people's attention... I'm also impressed by this latest effort called [Stop] Hate For Profit where advertisers are pulling their advertising from Facebook. Facebook has to be held accountable because they trafficked in conspiracy, they trafficked in misinformation, they trafficked in Russian disinformation, and they've got to be held accountable because we're gonna have another election, and everybody should know what's at stake and then cast their vote accordingly." The interview.

 A Busy Day For SAG-AFTRA

►Michael Bay-produced pandemic film hit with "Do Not Work" order from SAG-AFTRA. Songbird may have hoped to go into production soon as Hollywood looks to resume film shoots amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. But now it's been hit with a "Do Not Work" notice from SAG-AFTRA after the performers' union said it failed to comply with its signatory process. 

--When asked for comment, a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson told THR: "The producers have not been transparent about their safety protocols and that is something we obviously take very seriously. Also, as noted in the Do Not Work order, the producers have not yet become signatory to our agreement. We have no further comment." The story.

+2021 SAG Awards delayed due to coronavirus. The award show, which honors the best in film and television, will now take place on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The 2021 SAG Awards was originally set to take place on Jan. 24, 2021. Along with the new date, eligibility requirements have been modified, with the eligibility window being extended by two months. The story.

+SAG-AFTRA voting begins on TV/theatrical deal in test of leadership. Ratification is expected, but the packet includes an opposition statement and almost one-third of the votes on the organization’s national board were opposed to the deal, making the ratification ballot a test of members’ confidence in the Unite for Strength faction that has led the union and predecessor SAG since 2009. The story.

►Banijay closes Endemol Shine acquisition, forming global production giant. French TV production company Banijay Group, backed by French media and telecom giant Vivendi, has closed its acquisition of Endemol Shine from Disney and Apollo Global Management, creating a global production titan that will be the largest TV producer outside the U.S. Sophie Turner Laing, CEO of Endemol Shine, said she was leaving now that the deal was closed. The story.

+Discovery to acquire German TV network Tele 5. Discovery Germany plans on using the purchase of the free-TV channel from mini-major Leonine "to diversify its offering and pursue new target audience groups and marketing potential." More.

 In TV News...

►Clone High reboot from original creative team set at MTV Studios. MTV Studios is developing a "re-imagined" version of the 2002 MTV show. Creators Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Bill Lawrence will executive produce, and South Park veteran Erica Rivinoja, who was a writer on the original, will serve as showrunner. The story.

+Hulu is extending the reign of The Great. The streamer has renewed the dramedy starring Elle Fanning for a second season following solid reviews and, according to Hulu, solid viewership (like other streaming platforms, the Disney-controlled Hulu doesn't release viewing data). Season two will run 10 episodes, the same as the first. More.

+The Kominsky Method to end with season 3 on Netflix. The streamer has renewed the critically acclaimed comedy for a third season, which will also be the last for the show. The series starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin won two Golden Globes for its first season — for best comedy series and Douglas' lead performance — and has earned three Emmy nominations. More.

+Fox extends options on all six of its pilots. The network, which has a corona-proof fall schedule, will aim to film its four dramas and two comedies as soon as it's safe to do so. More.

+Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene canceled at The CW. The Lucy Hale starrer from Warner Bros. TV was left off the younger-skewing network's mass renewal earlier this year, with a renewal decision hinging on the show's digital performance on the recently launched HBO Max streaming performance. More.

+Conan O'Brien is the first late-night host to return to a studio... sort of. The late-night host will begin filming his TBS show at L.A.'s Largo at the Coronet on July 6. Episodes will film without an audience and with a limited number of crew and staff members on site, per government and industry protocols. O'Brien will continue to interview guests via Zoom. More.

►Fallout TV series from Westworld creators in the works at Amazon. Amazon Studios has licensed the rights to the best-selling video game franchise, with married writers and showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan attached to oversee the potential TV series. The story.

+And: Shoot 'em up action video game My Friend Pedro is also getting the TV series treatment. Under a collaboration between Legendary Television, DJ2 Entertainment and 87North Productions, the game will become an R-rated, half-hour dramedy series written and executive produced by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad...

►Meet Julian Bass, the social media VFX star who has won over Hollywood: "The world’s gonna know your name!" Disney chief Bob Iger, Oscar-winner Matthew Cherry, James Gunn and Josh Gad are amongst the big names in awe of the 20-year-old Georgia State University student's self-made special effects videos. "I jokingly asked for Disney and got the chairman himself," Bass told THR. The story.

►California film commissioner on pandemic hurdles and rethinking police ties: "None of this will be easy." Colleen Bell opens up about the biggest challenges to resuming production, a potential second wave and why she's re-examining the division's relationship with police in light of the Black Lives Matter movement. The interview.

►How coronavirus inspired a socially distanced rom-com: "It became the thing that got me through." Even before L.A. went into lockdown, director Jessa Zarubica was brainstorming a quarantine love story — and then assembled the team that would film it almost entirely remotely. The story.

 Former Walt Disney World employee accused of embezzling more than $160,000. Jennifer Alejandra Insuasti, 32, was arrested Monday and subsequently charged with one count of grand theft of $100,000 or more, a first-degree felony, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Wednesday. More.

Obituaries: Hugh Downs, the congenial broadcaster whose thousands of hours on network television included two decades on the ABC primetime newsmagazine 20/20 and nine years as the head man on NBC’s Today show, has died. He was 99... Saroj Khan, a top Bollywood choreographer, died of cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hospital early Friday, her family said. She was 71... Byron Bernstein, a gamer and popular streamer on video platform Twitch, has died. He was 31..

►America to us: THR TV critics pick 11 great shows to celebrate the Fourth of July. An epic doc exploring race and education, comedies about immigration and mega-store workers and a classic high-school-football drama are among first-rate series that reflect the best — and honestly grapple with the worst — of America. The list.

Revolving door: Spin Master Entertainment — the entertainment division of the company behind the PAW Patrol toy line that inspired the Nickelodeon series — has hired Hollywood consumer products veteran Heather Oster as vp of global franchise development...

TV ratings: Spanish-language network Univision topped the broadcast ratings in the adults 18-49 demographic for the third straight week on Wednesday, while CBS' Game On snagged the top individual demo number in primetime. The numbers.

In other news...

--Spotify has created a team to develop original audio programming for the growing U.S. Latino podcast audience.

--Lionsgate's Grindstone Entertainment Group has taken all rights for North America and Latin America for Afterward, the dramatic thriller starring Aaron Eckhart and Terrence Howard that was first announced in Toronto last year.

--Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival unveiled its first six competition titles for its 68th edition, including movies from Naomi Kawase, François Ozon and Thomas Vinterberg.

--The Shanghai International Film Festival is expected to take place in-person in late July, several reputable Chinese media outlets have reported.

--Downtown Disney, the outdoor shopping center in Anaheim, will still reopen next week even though the state has renewed some restrictions on businesses amid a rise in novel coronavirus cases.

--Brie Larson is now ready to explore a new medium. With a video full of bloopers, giggles, awkward zoom-ins and short interviews, Larson launched her very own YouTube channel on Thursday. 

--Jeff Probst on the future of Survivor amid pandemic, calls for racial inclusion.

--A biopic of music visionary, impresario and iconic The Beatles manager Brian Epstein is in the works, with Swedish filmmaker Jonas Akerlund tapped to direct it.

What else we're reading...

--"Caffeine raises $113 million to take live rap battles mainstream" [Bloomberg]

--"Adam ruins ‘For Your Consideration’ Emmy campaigns" [Vulture]

--"A summer without superheroes" [NY Times]

--"Emails tell the inside story of how the Enquirer got Jeff Bezos’ nudes*" [The Daily Beast]

--"SNL’s infamous ‘cue card guy’ Wally Feresten launches side hustle" [NY Post]

Today's birthdays: Olivia Munn, 40, Tom Cruise, 58, Connie Nielsen, 55, Sebastian Vettel, 33, Tracey Emin, 57.