Best TV Projects to Come Out of the Coronavirus Quarantine: John Krasinski, Hilarie Burton, Amy Schumer and More Stars’ New Gigs

Credit: Courtesy The Morgans/AMC; Courtesy of Food Network; YouTube; Courtesy Harry Potter At Home

Best TV Projects to Come Out of the Coronavirus Quarantine: John Krasinski, Hilarie Burton, Amy Schumer and More Stars’ New Gigs

Making it work! The coronavirus pandemic has halted many Hollywood projects, including Mission: Impossible 7 and Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette, but it has also sparked new TV shows and webseries. John Krasinski launched a YouTube series called Some Good News in March. The same month, Miley Cyrus created an Instagram Live talk show in which she chats with new guests five days a week … all while at home. While quarantined on Martha’s Vineyard with their son, Gene, Amy Schumer and her chef husband, Chris Fischer, were inspired to create Amy Schumer Learns to Cook. “I think the best time to impress somebody is with a late-night meal,” the comedian said in a teaser for the couple’s Food Network show, which launches on May 11, while eating wings and rice. “Just have sex with a stranger and make this meal and they will stalk you.” During the quarantine times, Fischer revealed that “the most positive thing you can do during this time is make something and use your hands and learn.” “We’ve got to spend so much time with our family, so that’s a plus,” Schumer said in the clip. “I’m learning how to cook and that’s a minus.” [jwplayer NCvtADnI-l3ahXupL] Beginning in April, Hilarie Burton and her husband, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, joined forces to host Friday Night in With the Morgans on AMC every Friday night. They kicked off their video-chatting series with Morgan’s Supernatural costar Jensen Ackles and his wife — and Burton’s One Tree Hill costar — Danneel Ackles as guests. “The plan is to maybe smile and laugh in a time that has been very hard to smile, much less laugh,” Morgan wrote via Instagram on April 10, announcing the series. “We will be interacting with fans and I’m sure, NOT fans as well, which is always a good time! I now need to figure out some hashtags... hold while I do some thinking... xoxojd.” The world of scripted television has also been influenced by the pandemic. CBS TV Studios announced on May 4 that Netflix’s hit docuseries Tiger King inspired its upcoming scripted series about Joe Exotic, starring Nicolas Cage. Netflix, on the other hand, has a show called Social Distance in the works, meant to capture the current lifestyle of being apart together. It hails from Orange Is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan. Scroll down to see which shows you can stream now — and which ones you can expect in the future — courtesy of the coronavirus quarantine. [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy The Morgans/AMC; Courtesy of Food Network; YouTube; Courtesy Harry Potter At Home

Best TV Projects to Come Out of the Coronavirus Quarantine: John Krasinski, Hilarie Burton, Amy Schumer and More Stars’ New Gigs

Making it work! The coronavirus pandemic has halted many Hollywood projects, including Mission: Impossible 7 and Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette, but it has also sparked new TV shows and webseries. John Krasinski launched a YouTube series called Some Good News in March. The same month, Miley Cyrus created an Instagram Live talk show in which she chats with new guests five days a week … all while at home. While quarantined on Martha’s Vineyard with their son, Gene, Amy Schumer and her chef husband, Chris Fischer, were inspired to create Amy Schumer Learns to Cook. “I think the best time to impress somebody is with a late-night meal,” the comedian said in a teaser for the couple’s Food Network show, which launches on May 11, while eating wings and rice. “Just have sex with a stranger and make this meal and they will stalk you.” During the quarantine times, Fischer revealed that “the most positive thing you can do during this time is make something and use your hands and learn.” “We’ve got to spend so much time with our family, so that’s a plus,” Schumer said in the clip. “I’m learning how to cook and that’s a minus.” [jwplayer NCvtADnI-l3ahXupL] Beginning in April, Hilarie Burton and her husband, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, joined forces to host Friday Night in With the Morgans on AMC every Friday night. They kicked off their video-chatting series with Morgan’s Supernatural costar Jensen Ackles and his wife — and Burton’s One Tree Hill costar — Danneel Ackles as guests. “The plan is to maybe smile and laugh in a time that has been very hard to smile, much less laugh,” Morgan wrote via Instagram on April 10, announcing the series. “We will be interacting with fans and I’m sure, NOT fans as well, which is always a good time! I now need to figure out some hashtags... hold while I do some thinking... xoxojd.” The world of scripted television has also been influenced by the pandemic. CBS TV Studios announced on May 4 that Netflix’s hit docuseries Tiger King inspired its upcoming scripted series about Joe Exotic, starring Nicolas Cage. Netflix, on the other hand, has a show called Social Distance in the works, meant to capture the current lifestyle of being apart together. It hails from Orange Is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan. Scroll down to see which shows you can stream now — and which ones you can expect in the future — courtesy of the coronavirus quarantine. [podcast_block]

Credit: NBC

‘The At-Home Variety Show’

NBC launched The At-Home Variety Show on Peacock on May 11, with Seth MacFarlane as its host. The series is a star-studded, short-form show focused on raising money for Feeding America, Americares and the United Way. Its first episode gave fans a glimpse at what Tony Shalhoub’s Monk character, Adrian Monk, would be like amid the quarantine. The daily episodes will air for four weeks on Peacock and Peacock’s YouTube channel.

Credit: YouTube

‘Regular Heroes’

Alicia Keys will host the eight-episode Amazon Prime docuseries, Regular Heroes, beginning on May 8. Every Friday the streaming service will drop a new episode focused on everyday people who’ve made differences in their communities amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This show is inspired by the individuals who give so much to others every day of the year but even more so during this challenging time,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement via Deadline. “They are true role models and we can’t wait to share their stories with Prime Video customers everywhere.”

Credit: ABC/Image Group LA

'Love in the Time of Corona'

Freeform is creating a four-part scripted romantic comedy inspired by finding love while social distancing. "This is the perfect show for a generation who is learning to love and be loved in a time when the entire world is telling them to stay 6 feet apart,” Lauren Corrao, executive VP of programming and development at Freeform, said in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter on May 7. “Although the constraints have been difficult during this time, immense creativity has flourished and we could not be more grateful that Joanna brought this series to Freeform.”

Credit: Courtesy of Selena Gomez/Instagram

Selena Gomez's Cooking Show

HBO Max announced on May 5 that Selena Gomez will be the star of a 10-episode cooking series, where she will put her culinary skills to the test with the help of a new master chef each episode. "We are so excited to have Selena Gomez in our first wave of programming on HBO Max and watch her adventures in the kitchen as she, like many of us, tries to improve her cooking skills during quarantine,” Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max head of original content, said in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter. “Blending her determination with top-tier culinary artists is sure to entertain and educate viewers about something we’re all trying to work through — how to make cooking at home exciting, fun and delicious." HBO Max is set to launch on May 27.

Credit: Babiradpicture/Shutterstock; Courtesy of NETFLIX

'Tiger King' Scripted Series

CBS TV Studios announced on May 4 that it is producing an eight-episode limited series starring Cage as Joe Exotic, following Netflix’s docuseries Tiger King’s success about the zookeeper. The project will be based on Leif Reigstad’s Texas Monthly article "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild" and has yet to land a network.

Credit: Courtesy of Food Network

'Amy Schumer Learns to Cook'

The comedian and her husband, Fischer, teamed up with the Food Network to create their own at-home cooking show, which premieres on May 11. The remote self-shot series will show off Schumer’s dynamic with the chef as the couple create dishes from food already in their pantry, from cocktails to chicken wings.

Credit: TLC

'90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined'

The couples from 90 Day Fiancé are taping their lives while self-quarantining together, without any producers, to create a special season of the show for viewers to watch. The first episode premiered on April 20 — and each week fans get an inside look into what the duos are up to as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

'Social Distance'

Orange Is the New Black creator Kohan is bringing fans a new Netflix series with the anthology Social Distance. The show will be filmed remotely and tells stories about the coronavirus quarantine time period. “The experience of social distancing is currently universal, but no individual story is the same,” Kohan and her team’s statement read via Entertainment Tonight in April. “Through a broad spectrum of tales and moments, some seismic and some mundane, we hope to capture a moment in time. And we hope that Social Distance will help people feel closer to one another.”

Credit: Courtesy The Morgans/AMC

'Friday Night in With the Morgans'

Burton and Morgan began hosting a weekly video-chatting based series on AMC from their farm in upstate New York on April 17. On May 4, the pair received an additional four-episode order. “We have truly enjoyed every second of making this show and catching up with friends, fans, and local heroes,” the couple said in a statement via Deadline. “We are grateful for the opportunity AMC has given us to continue the show for four more weeks and to share more stories, laughs, and hopefully, comfort.”

Credit: Courtesy Harry Potter At Home

'Harry Potter at Home'

Author J.K. Rowling launched Harry Potter at Home on April 1 to bring her books back to life in households worldwide. “Parents, teachers and carers working to keep children amused and interested while we’re on lockdown might need a bit of magic, so I’m delighted to launch,” Rowling, 54, wrote on Twitter at the time. Each week the website will feature a new video of a star (many from the films) reading different sections of the books, with surprises to come.

Credit: YouTube

'Some Good News'

Krasinski launched the YouTube series on March 29, with his former Office costar Steve Carell as his first guest. Since its premiere, the Massachusetts native has highlighted positive news he’s heard about the world and shared it with his viewers, including chats with NASA astronauts, a zoom call with the cast of Hamilton and giving advice to the class of 2020 with the help of Steven Spielberg.

Credit: Courtesy of Bright Minded/Instagram

'Bright Minded'

Cyrus launched her Instagram Live series, Bright Minded, in March, with its focus on “staying LIT WITH LOVE in dark times.” The “Wrecking Ball” singer goes live Monday through Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT with different guests. Past guests have included Emily Osment, Reese Witherspoon, Lili Reinhart, Nicole Richie and more.

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