What's news: How streamers are seeking viral momentum alongside traditional marketing, what will California's privacy law mean for entertainment firms? Sony buys $250 million stake in Fortnite owner Epic Games, Viola Davis moves to Amazon, Ryan Murphy named a trustee of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Kendrick Sampson is putting "pressure in the streets" for change. Plus: TCA Award nominees, and Ramy, Better Things and Legendary renewed. --Alex Weprin

 New Recipe For Streaming Success

►Goodbye traditional marketing? The secret behind streamers' small-screen success. From Hamilton (duh) to obscure Polish erotica (wha?), Netflix, Disney+ and others are finding that creating an on-platform hit is more about viral momentum, Natalie Jarvey writes.

--"Summer is typically when much more mainstream blockbuster fare dominates the movie conversation... But with theaters still closed as states struggle to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, a door has opened for a new type of social-media-fueled hit to emerge on the small screen."

--"There will never be a better time for certain titles to go to streaming," says Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Media. Given the awareness around Hamilton and its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robbins says, "It had a lot of potential as a theatrical release." But he acknowledges that it also will serve as "a great selling point" for Disney+, which has about 55 million subscribers. The story.

►Who's selling data? New California privacy law gives users more control. California's attorney general is now able to enforce the state's newest consumer privacy law, and voters could extend protections even further in November, Ashley Cullins reports.

--"Companies make money by serving the right ad to the right person at the right time," says Loeb & Loeb Privacy, Security & Data Innovations co-chair Jessica Lee. "In theory, it should be a win-win, but the concern is that the data that gets shared isn't clear to the consumer and there are privacy concerns." The story.

 Sony Buys Into 'Fortnite' Owner

►Sony takes minority stake in Epic Games with $250 million investment. The Japanese tech, gaming and entertainment giant has made a $250 million investment to acquire a minority stake in Epic, the developer of Fortnite and the Unreal Engine used increasingly in Hollywood production. While the companies didn't reveal specific plans on how they will collaborate, Epic's Unreal real-time gaming engine is growing in use in Hollywood's animation, VFX and production communities. The story.

--One thing not mentioned in Sony and Epic's announcement: did Sony's equity purchase include part of Endeavor's stake in the company? In May the holding company and owner of WME put part of its stake in Epic up for sale as it sought liquidity amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, seeking as much as $100 million. Sony's purchase would certainly fit the bill.

►Viola Davis moves TV overall deal to Amazon. With How to Get Away With Murder now in her rear-view mirror, Davis and her husband/producing partner, Julius Tennon, have moved their TV overall deal to Amazon. The duo previously had a film producing deal with Amazon and have now renewed that pact as well as adding a TV component. The story.

In other TV news...

+Oscar Isaac, Michelle Williams to star in HBO limited series. HBO has ordered a limited series based on Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage, with Issac and Williams set to star. More.

+Lucy Liu to star in ABC workplace comedy. Formerly known as Bossy and Kids Matter Now, the untitled comedy from Friends grad Shana Goldberg-Meehan will film in the fall when safe  to do so. More.

+Amazon snags rights to New York Times' Jungle Prince of Delhi. The tech and retail behemoth's Amazon Studios has won exclusive rights to develop Times writer Ellen Barry's story and podcast The Jungle Prince of Delhi as a TV series. Filmmaker Mira Nair is attached to direct and executive produce. More.

+Ramy renewed for season 3 on Hulu. The Disney-controlled streamer has renewed Ramy Youssef's critically acclaimed comedy for a third season. The pickup comes six weeks after the second season debuted. More.

+Better Things renewed for season 5 at FX. The basic cable network has renewed the comedy for a fifth season and inked its creator, star, writer and director, Pamela Adlon, to a new overall deal that will see the multihyphenate develop new projects for FX parent company Disney. The hope is for Better Things to return in 2021. The story.

+HBO Max renews Legendary for second season. The showcase for ballroom houses from Scout Productions has earned mostly positive reviews from critics; like other streamers, HBO Max doesn't release viewing figures. The show joins scripted anthology Love Life in earning a second season at HBO Max. More.

+Also: The 1986 New York Mets will be the subject of a multi-part ESPN documentary — with lifelong fan Jimmy Kimmel serving as one of its executive producers...

 A potential hint of what Emmy nominations — or possibly snubs lists — will look like later in July, the TV Critics Association has announced nominations for their own annual awards show.

--Topping the list are Watchmen and Unbelievable, each landing four nominations apiece, with HBO topping all platforms for recognition with 16 total mentions. Netflix follows with 10. Other notable series included in the list are The Mandalorian, The Last Dance, Ramy, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Mrs. America and longtime critics favorite Better Call Saul. The full list of nominees.

+Ryan Murphy among six new trustees of Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Patricia S. Bellinger, Arnaud Boetsch, Olivier de Givenchy, Ray Halbritter and Regina K. Scully have also joined the museum's governing body. More.

 Kendrick Sampson's Mission

►Actor-organizer Kendrick Sampson is putting "pressure in the streets" for change. The Insecure star and founder of activist group BLD PWR details his momentous month as a co-leader of Black Lives Matter protests across L.A. to Mia Galuppo.

--Sampson is quick to underline that BLD PWR is taking cues from other organizations and activists, including Color of Change, Students Deserve and Black Lives Matter co-founders Melina Abdullah and Patrisse Cullors (who sits on the board of his nonprofit). "I'm an actor. I'm a storyteller," says Sampson. "The way that [BLD PWR] operates is by amplifying and supporting organizers, by helping to organize Hollywood." The story.

►Disney World union accuses company of retaliation over COVID-19 testing demand. A number of unions were involved in the negotiating process to recall furloughed workers, but Actors' Equity on Thursday said Disney "rescinded all of its recall notices for Equity members," which they claimed was a calculated move and filed a grievance against Disney. More.

In film news...

+Sony Pictures, SK Global to adapt Kevin Kwan's rom-com Sex and Vanity. Kwan and John Pennoti will produce the big screen treatment for the Crazy Rich Asians writer's latest novel. More.

+Screen Engine launches online word-of-mouth screening platform amid theater closures. Screen Engine/ASI division TicktBox has launched a new online platform that will allow Hollywood studios to host word-of-mouth screenings amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and lack of access to movie theaters. The "Virtual Screening Room" hopes to appeal to film and television studios, streamers and independent companies. The story.

+Chicken Run voice star accuses producers of "ageism" after being axed from sequel. Julia Sawalha, who voiced Ginger in the 2000 original, has hit out after learning she was getting the chop alongside Mel Gibson — whose character Rocky is also being re-cast — despite her proving her voice hasn't changed. The story.

+HBO Max, under its WarnerMax movie label, will develop a film adaptation of romantic comedy novel When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri. More.

Tensions ignite between competing reality TV award shows. The Critics Choice Association announced winners for the second Real TV Awards, days after the Reality Television Awards, Chris Gardner reports: "People in Hollywood often steal ideas, and this is a clear example."  More.

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg are joined by the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles and her Waitress collaborator Jessie Nelson to discuss how they duo re-teamed for their Apple comedy Little Voice. Listen.

►Awards Chatter podcast: Best known for her Emmy-nominated work on When They See Us, veteran character actress Aunjanue Ellis reflects on what led her from Mississippi to Broadway to Hollywood, the highs and lows of her time in the biz and why she was so excited to play Dr. Mattie Moss Clark on Lifetime's hit TV movie. Listen.

►Critics' conversation: Overlooked series and performances that deserve Emmy nominations. As voting continues through Monday, THR's TV reviewers Inkoo Kang and Daniel Fienberg weigh in on the unsung gems they'd love to see rewarded with noms July 28. The conversation.

►TV ratings: CBS got decent numbers from the premiere of competition series Tough As Nails Wednesday night, leading the broadcast networks in both adults 18-49 and total viewers. The numbers.

Revolving door: Pete Buttigieg has found new representation. The former U.S. Democratic presidential candidate has signed with CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners... Studio 8 has tapped Tour de Pharmacy director Jake Szymanski to helm a buddy treasure hunt comedy now in development... AMC Networks executive vp Tom Halleen has exited his post to become founding dean of the new School of Cinema and Media Arts at Biola University...

Obituaries: Brandis Kemp, an actress best known for her appearances on the television shows Fridays and AfterMASH, has died. She was 76... Julia Dray, an executive at Disney, Fox Searchlight and Broken Lizard and a producer on comedy films including Dave Chappelle's Half-Baked and Norm MacDonald's Dirty Work, has died. She was 56...

In other news...

--With the physical edition of the Sundance Film Festival: London — the U.K. spinoff of Utah's annual festival — having been postponed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, an online special has been unveiled in its place.

--After the Hollywood success of Priyanka Chopra and Mindy Kaling, the inaugural 1497 Writers Lab, which offers mentoring from leading filmmakers for underrepresented South Asian screenwriters, has selected its mentors.

--Five people have been arrested, all allegedly connected to the fatal shooting of rapper Pop Smoke, which occurred in February, Los Angeles police announced Thursday.

--Archie Comics is partnering with Spotify via a first-look deal to adapt the iconic comic book publisher’s characters and series into multiple podcast properties for the streaming platform.

--NBCUniversal is going to get meta for its upcoming "Creativity Summit." The company will close the summit with an early screening of NBC's 30 Rock: A One-Time Special, giving marketers, media buyers and others in attendance a sneak peek at the primetime special that will also double as a pseudo-upfront for the company. 

--Jesse Tyler Ferguson and husband Justin Mikita welcomed their first child, a son named Beckett Mercer.

--TikTok recent streak of bad news continued on Thursday after elite gamer and YouTuber Tyler "Ninja" Blevins tweeted that he had deleted the China-made app over privacy concerns.

What else we're reading...

"TikTok stars race to land reality shows" [NY Times]

--"Black YouTubers ask why they are left out of YouTube Kids" [Bloomberg]

--"Carl Reiner's fairy-tale ending" [Vanity Fair]

--"NBCUniversal’s Peacock is unlikely to reach deals with Amazon and Roku by July 15 launch" [CNBC]

--"The unburdened believer" [New York]

Today's birthdays: Jessica Simpson, 40, Perrie Edwards, 27, Sofia Vergara, 48, Chiwetel Ejiofor, 43, Mavis Staples, 81.