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TV Medical Dramas Are Donating Supplies to Hospitals Fighting COVID-19

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10 months ago

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  • In an effort to help medical professionals facing equipment shortages, TV shows like “Greys Anatomy,” “Station 19,” and others are donating their stock of supplies.
  • This comes as companies like Apple, Facebook, Tesla, L’Oreal, and others redirect efforts to produce or donate essential goods like hand sanitizers, masks, and ventilators. 
  • The White House has not ordered companies to produce emergency equipment under the Defense Production Act, despite calls from politicians and medical associations.
  • But the lack of supplies has become dire, with NYC’s mayor saying, “If we don’t get ventilators this week, we are going to start losing lives we could have saved.”

Medical Shows Donate

Hospitals around the globe have been working tirelessly to treat the growing cases of coronavirus, all while dealing with shortages of masks, gloves, and other essential medical supplies. Now, several TV shows are stepping in to do what they can to support those on the frontlines of this pandemic.

ABC representative said several of its shows were donating their stock of highly-needed goods. “At ‘Station 19,’ we were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks which we donated to our local fire station. They were tremendously grateful,” the representative said.  

Those masks were given a station in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood, as well as the Ontario, California Fire Department where firefighters were having to reuse masks because of the shortage.

ABC’s “Greys Anatomy,” one of several shows forced to halt productions amid the pandemic, also donated its backstock of gowns and gloves from its costume department to local L.A. hospitals. Meanwhile, “The Good Doctor,” donated surgical masks, surgical gowns, face shields, soap, disposable booties, disposable isolation suits, latex gloves, and medical caps to Vancouver Coastal Health. 

“We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home,” ABC added in its statement.

But donations didn’t stop there, NBC’s “New Amsterdam,” which films in New York hospitals, donated masks, gloves, and gowns to the New York State Department of Health. This news came after actor Daniel Dae Kim, who just scored a recurring role on the show, announced he was diagnosed with COVID-19 himself. 

FOX’s medical drama “The Resident” made a donation of gowns, glows, scrubs, shoe covers, lab coats, masks, and other items to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where the show is filmed. Showrunner Amy Holden Jones told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s pretty appalling to think that our doctors and nurses at hospitals don’t have the proper protection — they’re facing these patients who are highly contagious without being protected.”

Other Shows Follow Suit 

Even non-medical shows are stepping in help. FX’s “Pose” donated supplies it had from some of its episodes. In an Instagram post the show’s creator Ryan Murphy wrote, “One of our regular sets and locations is a hospital where in Season 3 Blanca works as an AIDS/HIV counselor. Today, we donated all our prop supplies to Mount Sinai hospital to help nurses and doctors battling the Covid outbreak. Let’s all keep giving when and where and how we can.” 

“Filthy Rich,” a satirical dramedy that airs on Fox, said it was planning to make a donation of cleaning supplies and food pallets.

Businesses Help as Situation Becomes Dire 

Several other shows have been turning over what they can while businesses think of ways to redirect their efforts toward helping healthcare workers. For example, brands like L’Oréal Group, 

Coty Inc, and perfume makers like Givenchy and Dior, are using their facilities to produce hand sanitizers to give to French and European health authorities for free. 

At a press conference on Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence said Apple would donate two million respirator mask to help in the fight against COVID-19. CEO Tim Cook later confirmed that claim on Twitter.

And even the clothing company Hanes is retrofitting factories to make masks. Facebook also said it would give its emergency reserve of 720,000 masks to health workers. The company had initially bought them in case the wildfires in California continued. Zuckerberg said the company is also “working on sourcing millions of more to donate.” 

Meanwhile. Tesla has been donating supplies to medical centers in need and its CEO Elon Musk said his company is making ventilators. He expects to have over 1,200 to distribute this week.

These are just some of the companies volunteering their efforts. The White House has not demanded that companies produce emergency gear, which the president can do under the Defense Production Act. Despite calls from politicians and medical associations for the president to use the DPA, the administration has only encouraged companies to donate what they can. 

When President Trump signed the DPA last week, he said he will only use it as a “worst-case scenario.”

Over the weekend he said he hasn’t needed to use the DPA because of all the help from companies stepping up so far. 


Vice President Mike Pence said the federal government had placed orders for “hundreds of millions” of the N95 face masks, though it is unclear when that supplies will arrive and if it will be available before facilities start getting completely overwhelmed by patients.

As each day passes, it’s becoming more and more apparent how dire the shortages are in some areas. Earlier this week New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio estimated that the city had enough supplies to make it into April, but now he says there is only enough to get through this week.

In an interview with CNN Monday, he said called on anyone with equipment to donate, saying, “If we don’t get ventilators this week, we are going to start losing lives we could have saved. I can’t be blunter than that.”

On top of that, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday that the coronavirus outbreak will worsen this week, as he encouraged Americans to stay home. “I want America to understand this week, it’s going to get bad,” Adams said in an interview on the “TODAY” show.

“Everyone needs to act as if they have the virus right now. So, test or no test, we need you to understand you could be spreading it to someone else. Or you could be getting it from someone else. Stay at home.” 

See what others are saying: (Variety) (The Hollywood Reporter) (The Verge)   

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Joe Rogan Says Grimes Did Not Give Dave Chappelle COVID-19

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17 hours ago

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January 22, 2021

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  • Comedian Dave Chappelle is under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19. He is asymptomatic and his remaining shows in Austin, Texas have been canceled.
  • The news comes just days after Chappelle was photographed with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Grimes, and several others backstage at one of his Austin performances.
  • “Because people are asking, I was not exposed to the person who had covid and I have tested negative every day this week,” Rogan wrote on Instagram Friday. “Also, the person that gave covid to Dave was NOT Elon’s partner @grimes.”

Chappelle Tests Positive

Comedian Dave Chappelle has tested positive for coronavirus and is currently under quarantine, according to one of his representatives.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, that rep also confirmed that he is currently asymptomatic and has canceled all of his remaining shows at Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas.

“Chappelle has safely conducted socially-distanced shows in Ohio since June 2020 and he moved those shows to Austin during the winter,” the statement read.

“Chappelle implemented COVID-19 protocols which included rapid testing for the audience and daily testing for himself and his team. His diligent testing enabled him to immediately respond by quarantining, thus mitigating the spread of the virus,” it continued.

Joe Rogan Speaks Out After He Was Photographed With Chappelle

Two of the remaining Austin shows were supposed to include fellow comedian Joe Rogan. Rogan took to Instagram Friday morning to announce that they will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

Still, many fans had questions about Rogan’s current state of health. The news of Chappelle’s positive test comes just days after he was photographed maskless with Rogan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, musician Grimes, and several others backstage at one of his Austin performances.

Since Grimes, who is also in a relationship with Musk, recently had COVID, many were concerned that she may have exposed the group. Others wondered if Chappelle may have spread it.

Rogan eventually updates his Instagram caption to dismiss the ideas.

“Because people are asking, I was not exposed to the person who had covid and I have tested negative every day this week,” he wrote.“Also, the person that gave covid to Dave was NOT Elon’s partner @grimes.”

See what others are saying: (The Hollywood Reporter) (CNN) (AP News)

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Netflix Passes 200M Subscribers as Other Streamers Struggle With Retention

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3 days ago

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January 20, 2021

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  • In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said it has hit over 200 million subscribers following a successful year of growth.
  • The pandemic gave Netflix a significant subscriber boost in March and April. The company continued to perform well even in its final quarter, gaining 8.5 million subscribers when it was only projected to add 6 million.
  • The data also highlights how relatively unaffected Netflix has been by new streaming services entering the market. While companies like Disney+, HBO Max, and Peacock continue to grow, they also struggle to retain the subscribers that sign up.

Netflix Passes 200 Million Subscribers

Netflix has topped 200 million subscribers following a year of strong growth in 2020.

In its Tuesday letter to shareholders, Netflix announced that it added 8.5 million subscribers in its fourth quarter. This exceeds projections, which estimated the streaming giant would only add around 6 million. In total, Netflix gained 37 million new memberships throughout 2020, bringing the company to 203.6 million subscribers.

Pandemic lockdowns gave Netflix a substantial boost in March in April. In the company’s first two quarters, it added a combined 25.7 million subscribers. According to data from the letter, Netflix had added over 10 million more subscribers by May of 2020 than it had by May of 2019.

When it comes to the success of their fourth quarter, Netflix pointed to shows like “Bridgerton” and “The Crown.” The fourth season of “The Crown” hit the platform in November, prompting many to return to older seasons of the show. Netflix claims the series has been viewed by 100 million households since it first aired in 2016.

Success Amid Growth of Competition

The year 2020 could have been a difficult one for Netflix as new streaming services entered the market. Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Peacock and more have all made waves with their original programming or by taking some of their brand’s content from Netflix to host on their own site. User-based content on YouTube and TikTok also became increasingly popular throughout the pandemic, further posing as a threat to Netflix. 

Still, it reached a massive milestone. 

“Our strategy is simple: if we can continue to improve Netflix every day to better delight our members, we can be their first choice for streaming entertainment,” Netflix said in the letter. “This past year is a testament to this approach.”

Netflix potentially sees Disney+ as the biggest competitor among new platforms. In its letter, the company noted that the streamer added 87 million subscribers in its first year. In a Q&A, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings seemed enthusiastic about this competition.

“It’s super impressive what Disney’s done,” he said. “It’s going to be great for the world that Disney and Netflix are competing show-by-show, movie-by-movie. We’re very fired up about catching them in family animation, maybe eventually passing them, we’ll see. It’s a long way to go just to catch them, and maintaining our lead in general entertainment that’s so stimulating like ‘Bridgerton,’ which I don’t think you’re going to see on Disney anytime soon.”

Streamers Struggle with Retaining Subscribers

Even as new streamers have had impressive years, there is one hurdle that many are still struggling to jump over: retaining the subscribers who sign up. The Los Angeles Times named Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, and Apple TV+ in particular, writing that people create accounts with these services, watch the TV shows or movies they are interested in, and cancel once they are done.

An October survey from Deloitte said that 46% of respondents canceled at least one streaming service in the last 6 months, which is up 20% from January of last year. Most who had canceled said they did so because they had finished watching whatever programming it was that brought them to that service. 

Places like Disney+ and HBO Max are really vulnerable to this because they have banked on drawing people in with exclusive marquis titles like “Hamilton” or “Wonder Woman 1984.” However, since they are newer, they are still building their original programming catalog, meaning that people can quickly burn through highlight titles. 

See what others are saying: (Los Angeles Times) (Wall Street Journal) (The Hollywood Reporter)

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Paramount+ To Launch March 4

Published

4 days ago

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January 19, 2021

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  • ViacomCBS is launching Paramount+ in the United States and Latin America on March 4 before rolling out to other markets internationally later this year. 
  • The streaming service will be a relaunch and expansion of CBS All Access. It will include content from Nickelodeon, MTV, and more on top of the CBS-focused selection. 

Paramount+ Gets Launch Date

ViacomCBS will be launching its streaming service Paramount+ in the U.S. and Latin America on March 4 before rolling out in more countries throughout the year. 

It will be an expansion and rebrand of CBS All Access, the service the company currently offers that is used by nearly 8 million subscribers. Paramount+ will go beyond the CBS-centric content promoted there, including works from brands like Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, and the Smithsonian Channel.

More details about their streaming strategy will be released during an investor event on February 24. Right now, ViacomCBS is boasting that the service will have over 30,000 episodes and movies in their catalog, which will also include live sports and breaking news. 

“The Paramount brand is known and loved all around the world, and is synonymous with great entertainment. It’s always brought people together, which makes it a perfect fit for a streaming service that’s uniquely positioned to do the same,” Josh Line the chief brand officer of ViacomCBS said during a brand announcement in September. “The Paramount+ streaming service will elevate ViacomCBS’ iconic family of brands.”

State of the Streaming Wars

Paramount+ has already announced a slew of original projects including a revival of “iCarly” and a series about the making of “The Godfather” titled “The Offer.”

The service is entering an already crowded battlefield as the streaming wars wages on. It will have plenty of uphill battles to fight since brand recognition for Paramount is not nearly as strong as it is for studios like Disney or NBCUniversal. It will also have to compete with Netflix, which leads the pack in subscribers and unveils new content regularly; HBO Max, which will be home to Warner Media’s new theatrical releases; and Hulu, which hosts original content as well as shows currently airing on cable and network television. 

ViacomCBS has not released information on pricing, but that will likely come during or before the February investor event.

See what others are saying: (Variety) (Deadline) (CNBC)

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