Sundays are becoming a key day for virus-related TV specials.
This week, there are two contrasting looks at the presidency. Next week, music and comedy (including Eddie Murphy, shown here) collide in one timeslot. The specials are:
– May 3: President Trump has a town hall, fron 7-9 p.m. ET (4-6 p.m. PT) on Fox News Channel.
Bret Baier and Martha MacCalum will anchor “America Together: Returning to Work,” from the Lincoln Memorial. It will be social-distanced, the network said, with Trump answering viewer questions from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m.
An hour later, a very different view may emerge. Jake Tapper anchors “The Pandemic and the President,” at 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET on CNN, which has sharply cricized Trump’s initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
– May 10: ABC had already set the 7 p.m. slot for its second “Disney Family Singalong” hour.
The first one – stuffed with stars singing from home – was a ratings hit. The sequel will include Halsey, Shakira and Miguel, plus people with two names (Seth Rogen, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad) and even three (Anika Noni Rose). It leads into the third “American Idol” edition to have the contestants at home.
But now NBC is putting a fundraising special in the same slot. The “Feeding America Comedy Festival” will be 7-9 p.m. on NBC, the Weather Channel, Comedy.tv and other streaming services.
Pre-recorded comedy will be provided by Eddie Murphy, Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, George Lopez, Whoopi Goldberg, Sebastian Maniscalco, Margaret Cho and many more, including Byron Allen, who is organizing the event.
A previous NBC comedy special – “Parks and Recreation Reunion” – has now moved to streaming platforms, including Hulu, Peacock and the NBC app.