Canadians Buy Few Rookie U.S. Series Amid Pandemic

Peter White Television EditorPeacock has picked up Departure, the Canadian drama starring The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer, ahead of its nationwide launch on Wednesday.The NBCU streamer has acquired the rights to the drama, which was originally commissioned by Canada’s Global.

Following the tragic death of Broadway star Nick Cordero – who passed away on Sunday, July 5 at the age of 41 due to complications from COVID-19 – his widow, Amanda Kloots, shared that she opened Cordero’s phone for the first time since he went into the hospital on March 31. Cordero spent 95 days at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he was conscious just a handful of times.

Drew and Jonathan Scott are back to business following the coronavirus pandemic.

Dave McNary Film ReporterOn-location film in Los Angeles plunged to its lowest levels on record for the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, the FilmLA permitting agency reported Wednesday.The report showed overall production plunged by 97.8% to only 194 shoot days as production remained shut down from March 20 to June 15.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorEXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Get Out star Bradley Whitford and Jane the Virgin‘s Jenna Ortega have boarded the pandemic thriller Songbird, which begins principal photography today.The movie from former Paramount production chief Adam Goodman and former Disney exec Andrew Sugerman’s Invisible Narratives, with Catchlight Films and Michael Bay also producing, is the first feature film to shoot in Los Angeles since the COVID-19

Kendall and Kylie Jenner headed out of Los Angeles for a Utah getaway to kick off July.“Be back soon,” Kylie, 22, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, July 5, on a photo of herself lounging in a bodycon dress at the Amangiri Resort in Canyon Point.The same day, Kendall, 24, shared a few snapshots from the trip on her Instagram account.

Machine Gun Kelly, 30, was ready for an overnight visit, it seems. The star — who was born Colson Baker — was spotted in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles as he got into his luxe black Aston Martin vehicle on Thursday, July 2. He had a bottled orange juice from organic grocer Erewhon in his left hand and a black sweatshirt slung over his right arm as he showed off his many tattoos.

Dave McNary Film ReporterSAG-AFTRA has told told its members to refuse work on the pandemic thriller “Songbird,” produced by Michael Bay.“Songbird” had been announced in mid-May as a low-budget production that would shoot in Los Angeles. The performers union announced the “do not work” order on Thursday for production company On A Lark Productions LLC. It said the company had failed to complete the signatory process and is therefore not signed to any applicable SAG-AFTRA agreement.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticAmanda Kloots, the wife of Broadway actor Nick Cordero, told CBS This Morning today that her husband will likely need a double lung transplant in his long recovery from COVID-19.“We think that that is most likely the possibility,” Kloots told host Gayle King.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterCreative Artists Agency is shuttering multiple domestic locations through the end of the year, as coronavirus cases explode in the United States, Variety has learned.A late-hitting internal memo to staff informed agents and others that CAA headquarters in Los Angeles, as well as offices in Nashville and New York, will remain closed as the pandemic surges.“In carefully studying a wide range of factors, with employee health and safety as a top priority, we have

on Instagram on Tuesday (June 30) alongside a photo of herself smiling with the Broadway star. "Prayer warriors please pray that his body gets stronger.

Canada's Cineplex reported a $178.4 million loss in the first quarter after the global COVID-19 crisis shuttered its theaters and out-of-home entertainment venues since March. During the latest quarter, the Canadian exhibitor posted a non-cash impairment charge of $173.1 million related to goodwill, right-of-use assets and property and leasehold charges.

Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has filed for protection from creditors in Canada as its global circus shows remain shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic. Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil is seeking bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to restructure its balance sheet, the company said on Monday.

Prince Harry showed his support for the U.K.’s rugby community from his home in Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic season postponement.“We all miss rugby,” Harry, 35, said in a video shared by England Rugby on Wednesday, June 24.The former military pilot lent his voice to the sport’s Pitch In campaign, which is focused on the rugby family working together to raise money for charity and pitch in with food deliveries and more to help the vulnerable populations.

War Child Canada is looking for more support in difficult times.